p. 5 | And Had a Funeral by G. B. T.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 23, 1916

“And Had a Funeral”

By G. B. T.

“In course of time the beggar died; and he was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and had a funeral.” Luke 16:22. (New Testament in Modern Speech.)

“Had a funeral.” The rich man was able to hold splendid banquets, to revel in pleasure, to have more than heart could wish, to live in ease, and to enjoy luxury, while the poor suffered at his door. But the grim reaper comes gleaning with his sickle. The cold finger of death is laid upon him. He has a funeral, there is a shroud, a coffin, a few tears, a great grave. That is all. No hope, no light beyond!

This expresses the end of all those who live for this life. The rich man in the parable, when his crops were abundant, instead of planning to give to those in need; instead of helping those who suffered, and assisting in spreading the gospel, decided to keep them, hoard them up, and use them for himself in having an easy time. “He thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” Luke 12: 17-19.

The parable illustrates the experience of those who cling selfishly to that which the Lord gives them. They lay up goods with which they may take their ease, eat, drink, and be merry; they spend their lives in ease and selfishness. As David viewed at one time this class, his feet well-nigh slipped. He almost concluded that it was foolish to live a life of poverty and sacrifice. But when he went into the sanctuary of God and saw their end, when he viewed the slippery foundation upon which they stood, and the destruction which awaits them, he saw how ignorant and foolish he had been.

At the close of the life of all such there is an oration, a few nice things are said, then the hearse, a few flowers, the grave, and all is over. They have a funeral like the rich man in the parable; nothing more. A life is finished that had within its reach eternal possibilities, but it ended without hope. How sad to contemplate!

How different is the experience of the trusting child of God, even though he be a beggar! He may have been born and have lived in obscurity, yet he laid hold on eternal and enduring riches. Of some of these we read: “Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” Heb. 11: 36-38. A den or a sheepskin was their only possession. No fame or ease was theirs; but imprisonment, affliction, and poverty instead. They had no palace in which to live, but a home in a desert or on a mountain. They were dishonored of men, but honored of God; traduced by evil reports of men, but well reported of by the angels of God; unknown, yet well

known; looked upon as deceivers, yet known in heaven as true and faithful; unable to contribute to the work a mere pittance only, like the widow who cast in two mites; yet accounted by Him who sits by the treasury as giving more than all the rest. The Lord does not look into the treasury to see how much we give, but into the heart that he may understand the motive, and estimate the sacrifice involved.

Faith sees the invisible, and grasps the things that are eternal. And though death may come to the child of God as to all others, he has a hope beyond. By faith he has laid hold on everlasting life, and is an heir to a home which is eternal in the heavens.

“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die a hundred years old; but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.” Isa. 65: 17-23.

“O what are all my sufferings here, If, Lord, thou count me meet With that enraptured host to appear, And worship at thy feet? “Give joy or grief, give ease or pain, Take life or friends away; But let me find them all again In that eventful day.” G. B. T.