On the African
soil we have so many ways in which people conduct funerals. It is also evident
that some countries outside Africa have a unique way in which they conduct
funerals. In recent years I have observed that some African countries are
slowly conforming to the western culture of handling funerals. Nevertheless,
there is one phrase that I keep hearing and seeing from people in Africa and
from those in the other parts of the world when people lose a loved one. Sometimes
I wonder why someone would make such a statement. Maybe its failure to
understand what death really is.
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The other
thing I must mention before stating one of the most tortured phrases is the destiny of those
who have died. It is clear from the Scriptures that when people die without
having repented of their sins in faith towards Christ then their destination is
hell. Hell is the place where they will spend eternity. A good example for this
is the story of Lazarus and the Rich man. I am sure you know that story well.
Lazarus ends up in Abraham’s bosom while the rich man ends up in the place of
torment, a picture of hell. Why will such people end up in hell? Because they are
Adam’s descendants and Adam, remember, died (was separated from God) because of
sin. And in the story of Lazarus and the
rich man we have a good picture of someone who is separated from God. Each one
of us is Adam’s descendant and we are destined to die and go to hell if we are
not saved through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
So here is
my question now. If what I have said above is true and makes sense then why do
people say, “May his soul rest in eternal peace,” during a funeral, when they
do not even know whether that person was saved? This is abusing the phrase. In
fact it is torturing the phrase. How can someone who lived in sin, cursed
God and denied the Lord Jesus Christ even to his death ever rest in eternal
peace? How? For all I know as the Bible says is that, “There is no rest, says
the LORD, for the wicked” Isaiah 48:22. Could this be an African phrase or
something from the western culture or Europe? Or is it just some people trying
to be kind?
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