As I walked from my car in the parking lot towards
the front doors of the church, I glanced into the graveyard. Our church was formed in 1879 and as so many
rural churches of that day, it adjoins a graveyard. The building and cemetery no longer sit along
an isolated rural road but now has been swallowed by urban sprawl. As I passed the graveyard that Sunday morning
I was flooded with the memory of the many friends I knew who were buried there. I’ve been the Pastor now for eighteen years
at this church and have participated in many burials. As I thought of those buried I was reminded
that they no longer struggle with this world.
That they have left behind their mortality and have entered the world of
immortality. I was reminded that it was
my destination as well. That thought has
always served me well in life and ministry.
My decision and especially the larger life altering decisions were
always focused on the end destination.
As I looked ahead to life after death; what would I like to see as I
looked back? That then motivated me to
choose the life I would want to see.
Mortality for me has always been my motivator. The grave I do not fear for my Saviour has
conquered it. I too, will live with
Him. With that assurance of hope I look
at my earthly life and live it to the full.
For me the graveyard helps me focus my living. For me this is a wonderful thing to
contemplate on my way to church.
