After the hymn was sung, the pastor began the eulogy: "Good morning. Jason Smith was a no good thief, drug dealer who showed no respect for anyone including his own mother! He lived like a dog and died like a dog 'til someone he was trying to rob put him out of his misery! Undertaker, claim the body! Choir, sing!" This scene, though extreme, reminded me how challenging and sad it can be to celebrate the funeral of a person who is well known to have lived only for him or herself. Jesus exhorts his disciples (including us) NOT to live in such a way as to leave the preacher "speechless" (or worse!) at your funeral.

"Whoever finds his life, will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake, will find it". Like so many teachings of Jesus, it sounds contradictory at first: You have to die to live; you have to give to receive; you have to lose to win; you have to let go to gain all. But it is true! Selfishness is a prescription for a lonely, purposeless, and unfulfilling life. Living, loving, sharing, serving, helping, sacrificing and even dying for another's sake is the key to happiness! Only until you have poured out your life for the sake of others, will your ". living not be in vain!"