The House of Mourning
Ecclesiastes 7:2-4
It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will lay it to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
The above passage was the text my cousin preached from at my Grandmother’s memorial this past Saturday.
One of the points of this passage, and the point of my cousin’s sermon, was that it is good for us to enter the house of mourning from time to time and to think about death. My cousin also noted that it is good for us to cry because our tears remind us that this is not our home and things are not as they should be here.
It Is Well With My Soul
My grandmother lived for 92 years, had four children, 10 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren. She loved the Lord, and as my Dad recalled at her memorial, her life was her sermon.
I mourned the loss of my grandma on August 25 when I learned she had passed away after spending several weeks in Hospice. I let my tears flow freely and felt the loss deep in my heart.
But I felt differently at her memorial service. It was a simple worship service made up of mostly family and a few friends. We shared fond remembrances of my grandma, sang joyful hymns of praise to God, and heard the Gospel preached from the pulpit. It was exactly what I would hope a memorial service to be.
And despite being sad for our loss, I also felt an unrelenting joy. It was good to be in the house of mourning and to think about death. It was good to be reminded that everything in this life is temporary, the good and the bad, and that this world is not as it was meant to be. It was good to remember that our reality as believers is that death does not get the last word. It could not conquer Christ, and because of this it has not conquered my grandma either.
I rejoiced at worshiping with family members that I don’t normally get to worship with. I thought with gladness on what Christ has done to ensure that we will see the members of his body again. I found hope and peace in being reminded that He is coming back again and that when he does he will make all things new.
It is good to enter the house of mourning and remember the temporariness of life and death and reiterate the reality of Christ’s return to make everything right again.
My grandmother’s memorial was a very meaningful experience for me, not because I received closure for losing my grandmother, but because I was pointed to my Savior and was reminded of the great, enduring hope we have in Him.
If you find that you must enter the house of mourning, do not be afraid. Let it remind you that the house of mourning will one day be completely demolished and will be replaced with the house of unending joy.
He is coming back, friends. And when He does, we will behold the former things passing away and the making of everything new.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
Revelation 21:4
For more encouragement on what eternity will be like for those who are in Christ, read this article from desiringgod.org: The Eternal Shore: Five Things We Forget About Heaven.