In considering what to do with our body after death, Jay and I encountered the first hurdle.
Even though I still had reservations about my body being preserved in a container underground, I had even more reservations about it being incinerated.
So I leaned toward burial options. That also followed the tradition of our parents and those that went before them.
So I was initially shocked when Jay said he preferred cremation. He said it would be more economical and the money saved could be used to help the living.
Having this difference of opinion sparked
the next step of our journey. Quite simply, I wanted to know what God wanted us to do with our bodies. After all they belonged to Him.
He created our bodies as temples for His Holy Spirit and us to live. While we get to live in that Temple for however many years, it still belongs to Him.
Paul said, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of The Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
While we get a peek into customs during Bible times, The Bible really gives no specific directions about what to do with bodies after death.
However, it seems clear that the body is finished when the spirit has left it.
Solomon said,
“The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God Who gave it.”
Ecclesiastes 12:7
David said,
“When their spirit departs, they return to the ground.”
Psalm 146:4
Jesus also seemed to add to the thought that there was no need to spend a lot of time with a dead body.
Once a man told Jesus he would follow him, but he needed to go bury his father first.
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:60
So our initial research seemed to support dust to dust, but gave no real direction about how to get to dust in a sanitary, respectful way.
I vetoed Jay’s tongue in cheek suggestion to just put him in the back yard. I am sure our neighbors will thank me.😱
There were green burial options, but not in our area. Too far. Added expense. Not the best option.
So we were back to cremation. But was cremation acceptable to God? Was it ok that The Temple of The Holy Spirit be destroyed?
In fact, in the natural process God designed, the body decays and disappears.
Cremation only speeds up that process.
But what about fire?
I turned to The Bible to find out more about fire. God appeared multiple times through fire.
And yes, there were three men who thought they were headed for cremation in a fiery furnace, but …
Stay tuned for my next post when I will share what I discovered about God as The Fire.
