This week I attended the funeral of a person I’ve never met. She was a sister-in-law of someone who works with me here at the church, and I went to show some support. The deceased was a 48 year old mother of two. She died 2 days before her 30th wedding anniversary, and had died of cancer. It was really, really sad.

Now as a Pastor I’ve attended many funerals, and most of them are for people I’ve never met, or rarely knew at all. All funerals are sad, and some more terrible than others. This particular funeral was a graveside service, with about 100 people crowded around the little tent. Because I only knew one person at the funeral, I stood way in the back and could barely hear the preacher above the traffic and wind. As I listened to the preacher, I scanned through the tombstones within viewing distance to see the ages of those who had gone on before me. After 1/2 hour of standing and listening, I started to think about how one day I will stand in a place like this and say goodbye to those I love the most. And then ultimately I will one day attend my own funeral, albeit in the coffin.

I started to ponder how hard life is while we live on earth. How there are many things that make us happy, but really life is about dealing with disappointment, jostling for position, aiming for things to get better, and dealing with pain. Life basically stinks. It’s hard, difficult, painful, and down right nasty to live on this earth.

As I slipped into this way of thinking, I was really glad I didn’t have to wait until after death to experience togetherness with my creator. The only thing that really makes life worth living, from my humble perspective, is that I’m not alone. I have all these wonderful people on earth to walk through it with me; and I have my Savior, Jesus Christ. I’m Not Alone. Think about that… I’m not alone. I don’t have to walk through the tragedies alone. I don’t have to deal with the disappointment alone. I don’t have to celebrate my accomplishments alone. Even if I had no family, and no one on earth loved me; I could still say, “I’m Not Alone!”

All day I pondered Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always.” What a powerful statement Jesus makes. “I am with you always.” Who else can really dare say such a thing? The Message bible says it so eloquently.

Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.“