A NEWSLETTER FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE GREENWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

VOLUME 2 NO. 21                                            July 10, 2005

“HE LOOKS NATURAL”

BY LEONARD TYLER

Often when we pass the casket of a friend or loved one, someone will remark, “He surely does look natural.”  This is a tender, thoughtful and concerned expression.  It is one that may be said over you and me sooner than we think.  What will it take to make us look natural?  Think about it for a moment.

At a recent funeral I noticed that the deceased had his Bible tucked under his arm.  One of the family members explained that it made him appear natural and that she believed it would have been according to his desire.  This was impressive to me, for it suggested his attitude toward the Bible, and indicated that he had spent much time with it while he was alive.

On another occasion the one who had died was buried in a casket made from planks he had set aside in his garage for the purpose.  He was dressed in a part of blue overalls.  The man had lived a simple life and was never seen in anything other than such overalls.  He had given instructions for his burial before he died.  He did not want anything done that would look “unnatural.”

How would you need to be dressed to look “natural” at your funeral?  Would you look natural with a Bible in your hand?  What kind of dress would make you look natural?  A short skirt?  A low-cut blouse?  Shorts?  A swimming suit or bikini?  What about a pack of cigarettes in your shirt pocket or a cigar hanging from one corner of your mouth?  Maybe a can of beer in your hand?

What about the place where your funeral would be conducted?  Would you appear natural in a church building?  Or would it seem strange to see you there since you seldom if ever attended the services?  Is it not unnatural to read the Bible, sing spiritual songs and pray over a person's dead body who never participated in such acts of worship?

Do you really think about death?  Do you prepare for it?  One thing is for sure-DEATH IS COMING TO EACH ONE OF US.  Just how the body is prepared will be of no importance to us then.  But consequences of how we lived our lives will matter greatly (2Cor. 5:10).  May God help us to stop, think and turn to Him through faith and obedience before it is too late.

SOME QUOTES WORTH PONDERING...

“A man cannot govern a nation if he cannot govern a city, he cannot govern a city if he cannot govern a family, he cannot govern a family unless he can govern himself, and he cannot govern himself unless his passions are subject to reason.”
HUGO GROTIUS

“Our evangelical culture tends to take the awesome reality of a transcendent God who is worthy to be feared and downsize Him so He could fit into our 'buddy'. The way we talk about Him, the way we pray, the way we dress to worship Him and, more strikingly, the way we live shows that we have somehow lost our sense of being appropriately awestruck in the presence of a Holy and All-powerful God.”