Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”

Genesis 23:3-4

I’ve always had a problem with dead people. They take up too much time, money and space. We’d all be better off with fewer drawn out memorials and tributes and less wasted on funerals and the industry built up around them. And imagine all the lovely parks we could have if we didn’t have to waste all that land burying them all separately next to each other.


But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Matthew 8:22

Sarcasm aside, it sometimes is hard as a Christian to justify all the time and energy spent on those who have passed on. Preachers who do funerals (I have not had the honor) often don’t waste the chance to call the sinners among the mourners to repentance while eulogizing. There are so many dead in sin that are in desperate need of redemption and a chance at Spiritual resurrection.

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Romans 12:15

Let us not neglect the living in our quest to put the dead out of the way. Those who are left behind when someone dies are mourning out of more than mere obligation. We must consider our conduct toward them as a part of our mission even more than just calling them to life in Jesus. We must also love them with the love of God, showing his compassion and kindness.

Ethan Kirl