I lived beside church cemeteries during my first two pastoral appointments. I often visited the graveyards, pausing to read the monuments. The tombstones inspired me to write my own epitaph, including:

• Gone But Not Forgotten Asleep in the Lord
• Beloved Husband, Father, and Nobel Prize Winner
• I Told You I Was Sick!

Regardless of the words they grave for me, one day I will not be. Even lines etched deep in granite will weather and fade over time; but I will not be forgotten. One will still know me by name. God’s children never perish.

John Donne wrote in this class poem, Death Be Not Proud: “One short sleep past, we wake eternally, and Death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die.”

The apostle Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”

We celebrated the good news of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. No tombstone marks Jesus’ grave. The first disciples discovered an empty tomb. The angelic proclamation echoes in our ears, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen, just as he said!”

Simply inscribe my name and the two customary dates on my gravestone. Place a comma rather than a period after the date of death.

Easter reminds us that death is not THE END but a new beginning for all who trust in the Lord.