No point if there is no eternal life...

My facebook notes pay tribute to a great man, Alex Pollock.  It dawned on me why the funeral was so beautiful...

-You knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt, this man lived his faith with every fibre of his being.  Faith, hope, and love just filled this man so completely that you could not be around him and get nothing.  He had a song and dance always ready instead of just a hello and his being at church daily not only filled him with Jesus, but inspired him to go out and help others by what he said or did.  I remember how fond our youth group was of him and May, his wife, and even with all of us grown up now.

-The priest explained as he went along what he was doing and why, like sprinkling water as a symbol of him being baptized into God's family and rebirth as new life in Jesus and incense to symbolize our prayers as a family rising up to God. (Made me think of the old testament in a different light.) You could tell Alex's life really moved him also by the way he spoke as his life summed up everything we know to be true.

-He had told his family not to wear black at his funeral as he wanted it to be a celebration.  You could tell he passed on the values of faith and love to his children, grandchildren, church people and how many other hundreds?  That's what it's all about.  And a beautiful eulogy from his son which made you think about it even more, instead of a big list of what they did to make themselves important.

-People should use their talents to thank God and help others, like the phrase "it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."  The guy that sang and played (and his wife) is also a wonderful shining example of Jesus that inspires others (and would hate to know I am mentioning them).  He sings and plays with his heart, because you can tell his faith is the core of who he is and not just a show.  Otherwise it is just lots of good words and empty notes.

These pretty much sum it up for me:

1 Cor 15: 14-15 --- "If Christ has not been raised from the dead, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead.

Isiah 25:8 --- "Death has been swallowed up in victory."