What Will They Say?
We won’t be able to hear our obituaries—unless we write them beforehand! So what will our obituary say about our life on earth? Could it say that you have been a loving husband or wife? That you were a loving parent and devoted grandparent? Will it tell about the many interests we had: reading, fishing, sports, crafts, music? Will it speak about the public service we did, or the organizations we supported or belonged to?
But what none of those things describe your life? What if your life was unremarkable, or hampered because of a disability or disease? Even worse, what if your survivors are glad that you are no longer in the world? Some obituaries have stated that the world is better off without the deceased!
What is the vital information that should be in every obituary? That the person who died was a baptized child of God who trusted in Jesus’ death to free him or her from sin and death. When God’s Word instituting baptism is spoken over the water, baptism becomes a water of life. This means God’s powerful Word in baptism creates a new faith in Jesus, washes away sin, makes a person a child of God, promotes Christian living, and gives a person life in heaven. For the Bible states that in baptism, we “are buried with Christ by baptism into death” (Romans 6:4). This means that we are united with everything that Jesus did to save people from sins.
God’s love in baptism motivates God’s children to worship God each Sunday, to pray daily, to study God’s Word, and to be involved in telling about Jesus to others. God’s children desire to love and serve others through their vocations as husbands and wives, as church members, as workers at a job, and as neighbors.
Obituaries give information about the life of the deceased. We may be amazed to learn about the abilities and interests of someone we knew. We also should be amazed at God’s loving grace in calling to love His children to His home in heaven.