Looking for a good time this weekend? Try a local graveyard. Family picnics with games and entertainment for children are now popular events at cemeteries. Skydivers, musicians and even clowns are invited to perform. Wall Street Journal reports on this new marketing campaign for this sector of business that needs a boost.
It is all considered outreach to get people through the gates of the final resting place. Normally visitors come when in the midst of grief but the mortuary business wants to change that and have families come for fun times. They want to sell cemetery plots.
Preparing for the afterlife is not a bad idea. Heaven
, bestselling book by Randy Alcorn, points out that we would never travel overseas without studying where we were going. We would probably do web searches and have a stack of Rick Steve travel books next to our bed. Yet, many of us remain unprepared to face eternity and clueless about where we are going. It doesn't have to be that way.
Jesus spoke of heaven over and over in the gospels. It doesn't have to be the vague mysterious place most of us think it is. We can read and study about our forever home.
Above all we shouldn't be like the farmer mentioned in Luke 12:16-22. Jesus described the man as a fool to be unprepared for death for it comes unexpectedly. Being so focused on this earthly life keeps us from developing a rich relationship with God-which is what He wants with us.
Lord, help us see the many ways you attempt to draw us into relationship with You, the Creator of the Universe. Open our eyes to the wonders of creation that speak of Your great love for us. May we hear you speak our name as you beckon us to call you Abba Father, Daddy. Amen
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Hi Rhodema,
ReplyDeleteA family picnic in a cemetery is a rather bizarre place to hold a picnic, isn't it? We do indeed need to prepare for the afterlife and our forever home. Unfortunately, most folks don't give it a second thought or they make light of it. Our Lord paid too great a price so that we could spend eternity with Him and to make light of His sacrifice is shameful. Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful weekend.
Blessings,
Sandi
Okay - the opening line got my attention. I like to explore old cemeteries (for the history), but I can't imaging having a family picnic at one.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sandi - our Lord paid a great price so that we might spend eternity with Him. "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the hearts of men the things God has prepared for them."
Blessings,
Joan
I also like to explore cemetaries but picnic there? hmmmm. Have a great Sunday
ReplyDeleteI like old cemetaries, and I confess, my husband and I have stopped to eat lunch in our car in a cemetary more than once. (Not picnic! It is quiet, shaded, and a good place to nap before taking off again...strange I know...but maybe not...
ReplyDeleteGood post.
www.myautumnyears.blogspot.com
Randy Alcorn's book on Heaven is one of my very favorite books. I wish everyone would read it. I kind of agree with others who would be reluctant to have a picnic in a cemetery. It is an interesting concept though. Thank you for sharing this interesting post.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Charlotte
This sounds like a great book. I will remember this after I read my current book.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Ginger