Living Well

<p>Free funerals for the living. That&rsquo;s the service offered by an establishment in South Korea. Since it opened in 2012, more than 25,000 people&mdash;from teenagers to retirees&mdash;have participated in mass &ldquo;living funeral&rdquo; services, hoping to improve their lives by considering their deaths. Officials say &ldquo;the simulated death ceremonies are meant to give the participant a truthful sense of their lives, inspire gratitude, and aid in forgiveness and reconnection among family and friends.&rdquo;</p> <p>These words echo the wisdom given by the teacher who wrote Ecclesiastes. &ldquo;Death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart&rdquo; (Ecclesiastes 7:2). Death reminds us of the brevity of life and that we only have a certain amount of time to live and love well. It loosens our grip on some of God&rsquo;s good gifts&mdash;such as money, relationships, and pleasure&mdash;and frees us to enjoy them in the here and now as we store up &ldquo;treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal&rdquo; (Matthew 6:20).</p> <p>As we remember that death may come knocking anytime, perhaps it&rsquo;ll compel us to not postpone that visit with our parents, delay our decision to serve God in a particular way, or compromise our time with our children for our work. With God&rsquo;s help, we can learn to live wisely.</p>