Articles
The Lessons of Loss
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time
to be born and a time to die, … a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to
dance,” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,2,4).
I have not met anyone that really likes going to funerals. It seems that I have gone
through phases in my life when funerals come in clusters as the different generations of my
family age and pass on. I recently attended a funeral when my brother-in-law’s father passed
away and was reminded of the importance of funerals for those who continue to live. As I have
matured, I have grown to appreciate the lessons that funerals can teach and the often necessary
reminders they share.
Relationships are what matter. People are not impressed with how many hours you worked or
how big your house is. What matters is how you treated people and how you showed love to
those around you. The Bible teaches us the importance of love. “‘Love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The
second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these’”
(Mark 12:30-31).
This life is temporary. No matter how many days you live on this earth your time here will
come to an end. The Bible teaches us that our lives are but fleeting things, short and
unpredictable. “They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not
endure” (Job 14:2).
Death is the doorway to eternity. The most important thing we can do in this life is determine
where we will spend eternity. “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His
resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so,
somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).
~Brad Tolbert
