Live your life in a way...

There is an old saying... "live your life in such a way that when it is time for your funeral, you have made the job easy for the preacher."

This is a true story.  Once upon a time I met with a family about the death of the patriarch.  There were 6 brothers and sisters, all in their 50's and 60's.  The dad had lived a long life and recently passed.

I went to the house where the family was gathered.  I asked them the questions that you ask about the deceased.  It helps you to prepare the message to ask the family questions.

Tell me about your Dad.
[no response]
Tell me about his friends.
no response
Tell me about his spirituality.
silence
Tell me about what he loved.

silence....

Tell me about his values

nothing...

Finally one of his children asked me in an annoyed tone, "preacher can you do a funeral?"  I said, Yes sir, I can.  He said, "then fine, then just do us a funeral."

I led the group in a prayer and then we ate sandwiches.  I thanked them for their time and started down the sidewalk.  One of the brothers came out after me and stopped me.

He said, "Jeff I want you to know why no one had anything to say about our Dad.  It is because we all hated him.  He was a son of a b----h."

I thanked him for that info.  I prepared a funeral message.  It wasn't easy.

Moral of the story... live your life in such a way that you make it easy for the preacher when the time comes.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.