Living a Worthy Life
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…” ~Philippians 1:27a
A eulogy is a word of high praise, usually offered at a funeral. If you’ve heard a eulogy before you’ll know it often starts off funny, perhaps with a silly story or recognition of a quirk by which the deceased was known, but inevitably it turns serious. There are remarks made about character, passions, and contributions of the one who has passed. I wonder, if your friends and family were asked to eulogize you tomorrow… what would they say?
John Brown of Wamphray was a pastor in Scotland in the middle of the 17th century. His piety, love for Christ, and warmth in preaching left those who knew him in perpetual eulogy. Samuel Rutherford said that he “saw Christ in him, more than in his brethren.” Elsewhere he remarked that he was a man of “very great learning, warm zeal, and remarkable piety.” Another man said that his sermons were “nothing but Christ and communion with Him.” A similarly famous man from the same period was John Bunyan, of whom Charles Spurgeon said, “Why, the man is a living Bible! Prick him anywhere and you will find that his blood is Bibline — the very essence of the Bible flows from him.” These are surely words of high praise. What earns a person such eulogy is a life lived imitating Christ, loving the brethren, and keeping in step with the Spirit. It is a long obedience in the same direction — the direction of Christlikeness — that garners such praise, either while living or at one’s funeral.
I often encourage believers to participate in a thought exercise. Imagine that the people who are most important to you — your parents, spouse, children, or closest friends — were each allowed to say one sentence at your funeral. No fluff… just one simple sentence (a maximum of one semicolon). What would you want each of those people to say? Take a moment and really think about how you’d want them to speak about you at your funeral. Here’s how we ensure that single sentence is spoken by each of those people at our funeral: we must live in such a way that they have no other choice than to say those words.
If you want to be remembered as a faithful Christian who was full of joy, generosity, patience, love, and zeal for Christ, then live a life full of joy, generosity, patience, love, and zeal for Christ! Be the sort of spouse, parent, child, neighbor, friend, and church-goer that leaves those who attend your funeral with no other option than to say those praise-worthy things in your eulogy.
When our Savior died, the Roman solider standing near Him exclaimed, “Certainly this man was innocent” (Luke 23:47). I had a dear friend of whom it was said, “He never had a bad day.” What a commentary on his love for Christ and confidence in God’s sovereignty and goodness! What will people say of you, Christian? Is your manner of life worthy of the gospel of Christ — worthy of a good eulogy?
Rev. Kyle Lockhart, Pastor of Teaching & Spiritual Formation