[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":78},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fwho-will-attend-your-funeral":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fwho-will-attend-your-funeral-surround":68},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":12,"columnName":50,"date":51,"description":18,"extension":52,"image":53,"meta":54,"minRead":55,"navigation":56,"path":57,"postType":58,"publication":59,"publicationUrl":53,"seo":60,"stem":61,"topics":62,"__hash__":67},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fwho-will-attend-your-funeral.md","Who Will Attend Your Funeral?",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11],"Psalms","Luke","2 Timothy",{"type":13,"value":14,"toc":46},"minimark",[15,19,22,25,28,31,34,37,40,43],[16,17,18],"p",{},"To live alone can be difficult. To die alone is almost too tragic a fate to bear, and yet it happens. Some of the stories make the news, while others seem sadly routine.",[16,20,21],{},"The newspaper's obituary page contains a small listing about a woman in her nineties. In her prime she had lots of friends and was considered the life of the party, but now only a handful of guests attend her funeral because most of her family and friends died years ago.",[16,23,24],{},"A man afflicted with health problems isn't seen for a few days, and eventually his concerned landlord checks on him and discovers he died alone in his apartment.",[16,26,27],{},"A young man goes on a fishing trip and never comes back. Park rangers say he drowned, but nobody knows the exact circumstances that led to his death.",[16,29,30],{},"Soul-weary from years of depression, a middle-aged woman finally gives up the battle, swallows a bottle of pills, and slips into bed for the last time.",[16,32,33],{},"Jesus knew how it felt to be alone. In the solitude of the wilderness he went one-on-one with the devil for 40 days. He felt the loneliness of leadership when thousands expected him to meet their needs, heal their sicknesses, answer their questions, and solve their problems. Very few simply wanted to serve him.",[16,35,36],{},"His disciples struggled to understand him. The crowds eventually abandoned him. In Gethsemane his closest friends slept while he agonized alone in prayer. At his trial he faced his accusers alone without a defense attorney to present his case. False witnesses testified against him, but no one spoke on his behalf.",[16,38,39],{},"The soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross added insult to injury by gambling for his garments right before his eyes. Two thieves were crucified next to him, one mocking Jesus to the bitter end while the other sought solace from the dying King. The Lord's grief-stricken mother watched nearby, helpless to alleviate his suffering as he quoted the loneliest words of all from Psalm 22:1, \"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?\" Yet he took his last breath in fellowship with the Father and with words of trust on his lips: \"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit\" (Luke 23:46).",[16,41,42],{},"As the apostle Paul neared death, he sadly wrote, \"Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me . . . . Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me\" (2 Timothy 4:10, 11). Recalling his trial in a Roman court, he said, \"At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood by my side and gave me strength\" (2 Timothy 4:16, 17). Paul understood that neither in life nor in death was he ever truly alone, for the Lord was always there standing by his side.",[16,44,45],{},"Bitter moments and extended seasons of loneliness are part of the human experience, but we don't have to live and die alone. When we breathe our last breath, it won't matter how many people attend our funerals. In the end the Lord himself will be there, and that will be enough.",{"title":47,"searchDepth":48,"depth":48,"links":49},"",2,[],"First Look","2009-09-20","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fwho-will-attend-your-funeral","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":18},"articles\u002Fwho-will-attend-your-funeral",[63,64,65,66],"Biblical Theology","Perseverance in Suffering","Church Leadership","Spiritual Formation","F9pCkHaupxVSiVuw5cmx7VgdxfNuoNWm6UUlqrQVldU",[69,73],{"title":70,"path":71,"stem":72,"description":70,"children":-1},"Who Will Applaud First?","\u002Farticles\u002Fwho-will-applaud-first","articles\u002Fwho-will-applaud-first",{"title":74,"path":75,"stem":76,"description":77,"children":-1},"Who Would Have Thought . . . ?","\u002Farticles\u002Fwho-would-have-thought","articles\u002Fwho-would-have-thought","My wife Candy and I have known Mindy Smith since she was a baby. Her dad Larry ministered with the Christian Church in Nesconset, New York, while our family served with a church nearby. Larry and I sometimes worked on sermons together. I remember sitting at his kitchen table when young Mindy came bouncing home from school.",1790466196065]