.: reflections from a flame :.

I had the privilege yesterday of attending the funeral of one of the four U.S. Navy SEALS that were recently killed in Afghanistan during a Special Forces mission, and what an amazing experience it was! What was so profound about this young man's funeral was the way that they chose to honor him. First of all, I was amazed at how many people turned out for the service. I have become more and more surprised by how often people find excuses for not attending the funerals of those they love (myself included, armed with excuses that seemed fitting at the time). All I would say to that issue is that we ought to take advantage of these times for the sake of both possibly finding closure to the loss of that individual, but even more, that we rejoice in times when a fellow believer "graduates" from this world, to go on to be with God. We as followers of Christ, though we mourn the loss of loved ones, have the deepest of hopes in that we will see them again. So it encouraged me to see all the attending friends and family choose to honor his memory by showing up. But secondly, the family designed the service in such a way that we were not only offered numerous stories by which even newcomers (like myself, for I was only there to be with one of the cousins of the deceased) came to feel like they had known him, but everyone was powerfully reminded that the center and source of all real living for this honorable fallen soldier was that of Jesus Christ. This man seemed to have lived life to the fullest, so how refreshing to have that ascribed to He who said that He came to offer such "full living" (John 10:10). I was deeply moved and powerfully encouraged by all the various stories that were shared - men and women who knew this soldier as son, husband, father, friend, companion, and comrade. The stories were grippingly honest, and through each person's transparency (even with their feelings towards the nature of his death in the context of the war), I was compelled to follow the sort of example that this man lived. Just the thought alone of not needing to be intellectually astute in order to live with integrity hit me at such a deep soul level. I was left from yesterday's service with a desire to not take any moment for granted... to live as a man who embraces life with all his might... that takes advantage of every opportunity to achieve the greatest good... and to offer a legacy for those coming behind me (even a visitor who should happen to slip into my own funeral service) to imitate and be motivated by - to live a life worth something, that does something more than just exist, but one that is fully alive... and offers others all around him that same sort of life. May God make us all into those types of individuals!