This past Saturday morning found me at our church conducting my first funeral service. For those of you who have been following this situation over this past week, you can imagine how difficult the experience was. (Thank you to those of you who prayed for me. I sensed that God used me to be able to minister to the family during this time of crisis.) I wanted to provide some final reflections on what has been a very significant week for me.
How do you provide words of comfort to a family who just lost their 20-year old son to a drug overdose, particularly when they have no real spiritual foundation upon which to rest. What can you say in a situation like that?
One of the overarching themes upon which I centered my remarks had to do with the idea of one's legacy. In Jay's case, the tragic circumstances of his death did not necessarily cement the legacy of his life. We each have an opportunity to continue Jay's legacy if we commit to make our lives better as a result of this experience.
It was evident that Jay's life touched a wide ranging number of people, including a little 7 or 8 year old boy named Riley. My heart just broke for that little guy as he stood up by the casket with tears streaming down his cheeks. I bent down and hugged him, with tears coming down my own face, and tried to provide some words of comfort which I'm sure were shallow at best. He said that Jay was like a big brother to him. How does a little guy like Riley process this kind of tragedy?
I was particularly struck by the fact that Jay probably didn't even realize the impact his life had on Riley, let alone the hundreds of others who showed up at his funeral. Nor do we fully appreciate the impact our lives have on those around us. What kind of legacy are we leaving?
Acts 13:36 tells of King David's legacy, saying, "For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed." This succinct description of David's life should be our own. What is God's purpose for us in this generation? What are we doing to fulfill that purpose?
Rarely is a person's legacy cemented in one overarching event, like Neil Armstrong's stepping on the moon. Instead, the establishing of one's legacy is a moment-by-moment construction. As I mentioned in my previous posts on these events, too often we fail to appreciate the brevity of life, instead choosing to live as if we have all the time in the world. The inevitability of death should provide a heightened motivation for making our lives count while we can. You never know how many tomorrows you may have, so what are you doing with your todays? 
Good post. I'll be praying for Riley.
Posted by: Andy Bullock | March 27, 2007 at 10:38 AM