Given that we have a couple of Memorial Services today at Life in Christ, I really appreciated these words from Kurt Senske:
Therefore, when we, as Christians, talk about a funeral as a cause for celebration, we are not denying the tremendous grief and sadness that accompany death. The cause for celebration is that the suffering of one of God's own has ended, and he or she now lives on in glory. For that reasons, we can say: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness" (2 Timothy 4:7-8). In joy, we accept our call to die every day as we patiently wait to receive the inheritance of eternal life that has been prepared for us.
From "The Calling - Live a Life of Significance" page 192-93
