By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. Hebrews 11:4
One of the most devastating elements of death is the gaping hole left by the absence of the deceased in the lives of his/her survivors. We all have those people in our lives who have been a rock to us since our earliest memories. Sadly, we often take such people for granted and act as if they will always be there. We simply cannot imagine life on earth without them. This may help explain, at least partially, why one of the known stages of the grief process is denial. It seems unreal for a time; even though our minds have known it was coming, our hearts just could not imagine the reality of it.
There is no way to avoid the pain of such losses and the sense of so much missing from our lives. However, the absence of those we love does not mean their voice is silenced from our lives. One of the most common encouragements given to mourners at funerals and memorials is to remember the legacy the deceased left behind. Often this is stated with special emphasis on the formative influence of their life and teaching. The general idea is that, though the loved one can no longer speak directly to us, by the life lived and the principles taught, they still “speak” to us in profound ways. This is not some emotional concept falsely concocted to give false comfort to mourning loved ones. This is a biblical principle that we would do well to consider as we go about living our lives in the presence of our loved ones.
In Hebrews 11, the writer names a host of faithful people of God from the past with the intent of strengthening the struggling Hebrew Christians (Hebrews 10:32-39). Each of them contributes to the encouragement needed to see that every circumstance is navigable with God’s help, if we live out our lives in saving faith. In Hebrews 12:1, they are described as a “great cloud of witnesses.” The term translated witnesses is indicative of one who gives testimony in an official proceeding. Though the people named were long dead, they were still bearing witness to God’s faithfulness and the need to reciprocate that faithfulness. Concerning Abel, whose sacrifice to God was acceptable, the text plainly says he “still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4). Of course this is done indirectly by the record of his faithfulness, but his message still comes through to those who will “hear” it.
The simple point in all this is that, though we will all die, leave this earth, and cease to speak directly to our loved ones, we still will be speaking to those who trust us and hold us dear. This may be good or bad, depending on what we speak from the grave. Abel, and the other heroes, left behind a word of faith in and faithfulness to God by which people thousands of years later still draw strength to persevere in faith. On the other hand, those whose lives were characterized by godlessness also speak to those near to them. The reality is, whether we recognize it or not, we will be speaking to our loved ones long after our decease. What would you say to them when your time on earth is up?