I attended a memorial service recently and was delighted to hear the minister extend what is typically referred to as an “altar call” at the close of the service.
The minister appealed not only to those who have yet to surrender their lives to Jesus, but also to those who might have accepted the Lord’s salvation but “wandered away.”
My disappointments were 1) an unresponsive audience and 2) a subsequent suggestion by a fellow believer that the altar call was “inappropriate” at a memorial service.
What?! Could there be a more “appropriate” time to speak God’s truth? To tell of His Son’s sacrifice and the need to receive His grace?
I am happy to report that the memorial was held for a 101-year-old sister who was faithful to the Lord and is face to face with Him today and for eternity.
I know without a doubt she would have heartily endorsed the minister’s appeal. She would have applauded his effort to touch the hearts of any of her precious loved ones who do not yet know the hope of joy and life that comes when we repent and receive Christ’s gift of salvation.
The Christian memorial service is absolutely an opportunity to celebrate the blessed life of a loved one, and the stories told are often a testimony in themselves. But the reality is, the person being memorialized is gone – absent from this life, present with the Lord for eternity.
The chance to speak to the unsaved, to the person who has dropped Christ’s hand in his or her daily walk – is an opportunity that must be embraced. What a perfect time to remind Christ followers of the urgency to witness as the Holy Spirit provides prompting and opportunity.
We do not know when this life will end, no matter our age. We can know today what the next life will be … we can run into the open arms of Jesus and be assured our names are written in The Book of Life.
My thanks to this minister, and to any others who reflect the love of Jesus in bringing the “hard” message of our mortality and spiritual death without the cover of Jesus Christ’s blood.
Make us bold, Lord Jesus, as we await your soon return!
“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” James 4:14
“He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” Revelation 3:5
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