file: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db940115.TXT ------------------------------------------------------- OUR DAILY BREAD Saturday, January 15, 1994 ---------------- READ: Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 FUNERAL OR BIRTHDAY? Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. Ecclesiastes 7:2 If you visit some of the old New England churches, you'll notice that many of them have a cemetery in the churchyard. The windows in the sanctuary are filled with clear rather than stained glass so that the pastor would see the graveyard as he preached. As he communicated his message to the congregation, a very serious message was being communicated to him. Two hundred fifty years ago, Christians believed that the central mission of the church was to bring men and women into a right relationship with God. That's why they constructed their church buildings with see-through windows. They wanted their pastors to be continually reminded of the seriousness of their calling. Everyone who sat in the pews before them each Sunday would eventually fill a place in the cemetery and ultimately stand before God to be judged. The preacher of Ecclesiastes also lived with the reality of death. He argued that it is better to go to a funeral than to a birthday party, because when we think about death we deal with the bedrock issues of our lives. Only those who've trusted in Christ for eternal life can live well -- because they're prepared to die. Author: Haddon W. Robinson Considering mortality Gives life the proper view; Preparing for eternity Makes sense of all we do. --Sper THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: --------------------- You're not ready to live until you're ready to die. THE BIBLE ON ONE YEAR: Genesis 47-50 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Daily Bread, Copyright 1994, used by permission of Radio Bible Class, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49555, USA. Written permission must be obtained from RBC for any further posting or distribution. RBC provides a variety of Bible resources, which are free of charge. RBC is not funded by any group or denomination, and support come voluntarily from its Members and friends. Write for more information, or call 1-800-598-7221 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------