Ecclesiates Series
Then I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done. This also is vanity. Ecclesiastes 8:10
Who remembers the dead once they are out of sight and in the ground? Solomon speaks of the wicked, but even among believers it is true that after a generation or two, “… the memory of them is forgotten” (9:5). Have you walked through your hometown cemetery? How many of the deceased do you remember? “Out of sight, out of mind.”
In the hope that they will be remembered, people may try to create a legacy in their name. They may want to be remembered as someone who wielded great power. Or, a person of great wealth. Or, a person of superior intellect. Or perhaps they want to leave some contribution: an invention, a cure for cancer, a large acreage for a national park bearing their name, a scholarship in their name, a magnificent building, an endowed chair at a university, etc. At the funeral of a famous person, the obituary tends to be filled with words of praise. That’s why it is called a “eulogy.”
How do you want to be remembered after you are gone? The greatest legacy you can leave behind is this: when your name comes up, people will think of Jesus. A Christian’s obituary ought to be a celebration not of what he has done, but of what Christ has done for him. Without Christ, all of us would be like the wicked. In fact, we would be the wicked, lost and condemned. However, with Christ in our lives, God has declared, “You are not guilty.” More than that, He has declared, “You are righteous before Me.” Therefore, even though we will be forgotten on earth, thanks be to Jesus, we will never be forgotten in heaven, for our names are recorded forever in the Book of Life.
My God forgets me not!
Lord, I am Yours forever.
Oh, keep me strong in faith
That I may leave You never.
Grant me a blessed end
When my good fight is fought;
He helps in life and death —
My God forgets me not!
The Lutheran Hymnal 402:5 (edited)