S4 E10 - Who Are Your Friends When You Die?

Our dear friends and family who just moved to the area have two cemeteries on their property. The gravestones are nearly 200 years old, overgrown, neglected, and forgotten. The lives of these folks have long since been forgotten, and it brings the light the following reality: we will all be the same way too. We will be forgotten by everyone. 

Everyone, that is, except the Lord. While a generation comes and goes, one day we will all stand before God and give an account of our lives. Knowing this, it should remind us of this truth: it does not matter how many friends you leave behind when you die, it only matters whether or not you have a friend in Jesus. 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day? 

What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me? 

 Welcome back to season 4 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. And I’m excited to share a few moments together with you learning some important lessons from the simplest things. Thanks for tuning in! 

I’m baaaaaacccccckkkkk. And boy am I glad to be home. My two weeks away in Nashville, Tennessee and Lawton, Oklahoma were so encouraging as I was able to meet so many new brothers and sisters in Christ and experience some wonderful things. But two weeks away from my wife, my children, my church family, and my home is about the longest I ever want to be away from them ever again if I can help it. Thank y’all so much with your patience with the podcast as well! I was hoping to have a little bit of free time to devote to the podcast while I was away, but I was kept very busy! When I wasn’t busy, I was getting some much needed rest to keep up with everything. But I’m back, I’m rested, and I’m settled in and ready to get back to routine – which also includes the podcast. 

I had so many experiences in my time away that would make excellent podcasts, and maybe they will sneak in at some point in the weeks to come. But for now, I want to share a couple of events that took place right before I left home. Our dear friends, who are more like family, named Kerry & Kelly Brown just moved to the Danville area, and we could not be more thrilled about it! God blessed them with a wonderful piece of property out in the forks, and after seeing it and falling in love with the area they made and offer which was accepted! I had seen the property only virtually through Redfin and the pictures they had posted there, so Kerry asked if I wanted to ride out with him to see the land they were taking possession of. The drive out there was beautiful, and there were so many things about the topography that were simply stunning – but the thing I found most fascinating is that their property has two small cemeteries on it. We pulled up to the first cemetery and one of the first things I noticed was how overgrown it was. It was very clear that no one had visited these grave sites in decades, and as I soon found out perhaps even longer. The etching on the stones were hard to make out, but I was able to start making out a few of the dates. 1828. 1843. 1854. These burial plots were nearly 200 years old! No wonder it was overgrown – anyone that would have known these people were already long since dead themselves. They had been abandoned. Forgotten. Lives lived whose memories have long since faded – only to be remembered by name from strangers on an overgrown headstone. As I read their names, I wondered what kind of people these would have been. What kind of lives they would have lived. And then it dawned on me…perhaps one day 200 years from now, some young man will be reading my name on an overgrown headstone, with my life and those that knew me long since forgotten. As I contemplated my own mortality, the words of a preacher at a funeral I had just attended came to mind. He said, “You know, I’ve done funerals where literally no one showed up to honor the dead. I’ve also done funerals where there was standing room only, packed full of friends and family. But being in this house of mourning and considering our own departure reminds us of this invaluable truth: it matters not how many friends one has standing by their gravestone when they die, only whether or not we have a friend in Jesus.” 

King Solomon the wise would pen the following words to begin his marvelous work of Ecclesiastes: “ ‘Absolute futility,’ says the Teacher. ‘Absolute futility. Everything is futile.’ What does a person gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets; panting, it hurries back to the place where it rises. Gusting to the south, turning to the north, turning, turning, goes the wind, and the wind returns in its cycles. All the streams flow to the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. All things are wearisome, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied by seeing or the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. Can one say about anything, ‘Look, this is new’? It has already existed in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of those who came before; and of those who will come after there will also be no remembrance by those who follow them.”

This is the nature of life, my friends. As Solomon would go on to say, just as there is a time for us to be born, there is also a time for us to die. As it stands currently, we are living our lives to the fullest and to the best of our abilities. We have families, friends, jobs, homes, and are key components of the communities and churches we are a part of. But it will not always be that way. One day, we will be gone. Our departure will leave behind those that loved us and knew us, but they too one day will face their own death as well. In just a short amount of time, the very memory of our lives will fade. Gravestones that were once frequented and cared for will become overgrown, abandoned, and forgotten. Given this reality, it is easy to understand why Solomon uses words like “futility” and “vanity” – because if all we do and are will one day be forgotten, what’s the point? And honestly, if this life was all there was…it truly would be pointless. 
 
 But our death is not the end, and the way in which we live in this life is not pointless. After all was said and done, Solomon would finish his introspective book with the following conclusion: “When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity. For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) While all we do and are will be forgotten from generation to generation, there is one who never forgets: the Lord. He will call to memory our lives, every action and every thought – and we will be judged accordingly. That should be a terrifying thought, because like me, you are a sinful person. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and the wages of our sin is death. No friend of ours can change our fate. No matter how good our obituary claims we were, no matter how many friends we leave behind that sing our praises, we stand hopelessly condemned before God on account of our sin. There is only one who can save us, one friend who can deliver us from sin and declare us righteous before God – and that is Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Father. If you are listening today, I beg you to strongly consider Solomon’s conclusion to life, and remember the following: it matters not how many friends you leave behind, the only thing that matters is if you have a friend in Jesus. 

This has been the Set Your Mind Above Podcast, season 4 episode 10 – and I’m so thankful that you decided to tune in today! A new episode is dropped most Fridays, so be sure to tune in next week.  Also, if you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, as well as share it with someone else – it would help me greatly in trying to reach others. And more than anything, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.