He was the one who accepted Christ earlier this year that I mentioned in a previous blog post-so for that I rejoice.
I was able to attend his funeral this weekend. Overall, it was a good experience. A funeral is one of those things that helps put things into perspective. The service at the funeral was pretty much the service I believe that my grandfather would have given. The main point of the message was that being a "good person" doesn't necessarily mean you're going to Heaven. Only faith in Jesus Christ will save you from an eternity in Hell. I was glad that I was able to present a couple paragraphs in the service about his life. (I had the pastor read them, I wouldn't have been able to. Even with all of my complaints about lack of emotion- I'm not as emotionless as I thought.)
Most of my emotion came from viewing my grandfather's body the day before the funeral. It really wasn't so much because of his loss that I wept (although- I would've liked to hear more of his stories); it was because of how beautiful his life was. This was a man who loved his wife probably more than any man could. He served his country in the second World War, provided for his family, and instilled a work ethic in those who worked for him.
Short story time: My grandfather worked on a farm and logged woods part time. One day while logging woods, a log fell off of the truck and severely broke his leg about halfway through the work day. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to work for the next couple months, he finished his logging job for the day and then went to the hospital. Yeah. Tougher than nails is a good description.
Anyway, the man had done it all and seen it all. (Being a radioman on blimps in the navy, he traveled nearly everywhere in the world.) Near the end of his life, he realized that life has nothing permanent to offer and he trusted Christ as his Savior. It was thinking on the beauty and grace of how God had spared his life so many times so that he would come to salvation that got me. The more I thought about how excited he would be to be in Heaven and to see Jesus, the more the emotion came. Also, singing "In the Sweet By and By" got to me because I could picture him and I belting it out together loud and proud for the Lord.
I heard a quote on the radio as I was driving to his house, "It is better to look back on a well-spent life than to look forward to an unlived one."
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