Proper Respect In Death
I’ve seen death fairly close up. I’ve been to a lot of funerals over the years. The bodies I’ve seen have all been dressed nice and have make-up. I’ve been to funerals where the casket was closed for obvious reasons. I think I would have a hard time seeing a body that had been ravaged by war or even hurt in a car accident. I can hardly imagine the world of an EMT or Fireman who see death quite often and see bodies that were once alive and vibrant, now lifeless.
There will be a time coming when all bodies die. It sounds kind of depressing and it probably would be if I didn’t have hope of life after death. I was reading again this morning, the story of King Saul’s death. It is a story of defeat in battle. The Philistines wounded him and he had no hope of surviving in his mind, so he fell on his sword and died. Check this out…
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news among their idols and their people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung up his head in the temple of Dagon.
11 When all the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men went and took the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones under the great tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days. (1 Chronicles 10:8-12 NIV)
These men were very brave to risk their lives to give Saul and his sons the proper respect. I think the reason I believe in respect for the dead is because I know I will be there someday and I’d like to think my body will be treated with respect. I also can’t help but think that there was a healthy respect for Saul and his sons for the position he had held as king. He was there in battle fighting for the rights of the people he was leading.
I was reminded of a true story of a man in North Georgia who ran a cremation service. Instead of properly cremating the bodies entrusted to him, he put them on his land and they were in all stages of decomposition. It was a horrible story, especially for those who had loved ones that they thought had been handled properly. There were 339 bodies discovered that were not cremated properly. The owner of the crematory pled guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was released just last month. The story is on Wikipedia found here.
Death is very much a part of life here on earth. I think we should show respect even in death. For the most part death is an unwelcomed visitor. Because of my faith in God, I believe that there is life beyond this life. I don’t believe that when I die, everything is over. I believe when I die, it’s a doorway to eternity. I have hope in God. I believe His promises are true. I believe that the Creator of Life has the power to provide eternal life. Until I die, I plan to show proper respect to the people who’ve gone on before and their bodies remain here. I have respect for people who properly handle the bodies after death. When I reflected on this story of Saul and his sons dying in battle together, I was thankful for the men who retrieved their bodies for proper respect and burial. It seems to me to be the right thing to do.
Pressing On!
Dwayne