The End from the Beginning

Years ago my best friend and I made a commitment to give the eulogy at each other’s funeral. We felt confident that we both knew precisely the goodbye service the other one would want: a respectful but jubilant get-together with upbeat music, as much laughter as possible, and a heartfelt invitation for everyone present to trust the Jesus we live for and adore. The two of us felt good about our pact, until the day one of our brilliant friends pointed out that we couldn’t actually speak at each other’s funerals.

“And why not?” We asked in unison.

She answered in the tone one might use with a toddler, “Because somebody would have to come back from the grave to make the second one happen.”

Oh. We were forced to agree that Mrs. Smarty Pants had a point. I suppose we could prepare our reciprocating eulogies in advance but the idea doesn’t appeal to either of us.

Of course, newspapers do that sort of thing. They keep prepared obituaries for all kinds of famous people on file. They have obits ready for the aged and or ill celebrity, and they have carefully crafted eulogies for the famous person who is publicly spinning out of control. Even if, chronologically speaking, the troubled star should have years ahead of them, their obituary is often written and waiting for the date behind the dash.

It can sound fatalistic, unless we remind ourselves that someone still has to see that such an advance obit is updated and revised before it’s published, lest it be filled with erroneous information. For there is only One who knows the end from the beginning.

Only God knows what we’ve been called to do in our years here on earth, and what we will do. I’m freshly convinced that our struggle is not in unearthing and fulfilling this individual mission before our obituary is finalized.

Rather, our challenge is to live with one goal, to know God and the One whom He has sent, Jesus Christ the Son. In doing this we can’t but become exactly who He purposed us to be.

Hugs, Shellie