Sabbath Thought - House of Mourning

It is an unfortunate reality that death is a part of life.  We read in Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 that it is: "Better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to the house of feasting, For that is the end of all men; And the living will take it to heart.  Sorrow is better than laughter, For by a sad countenance the heart is made better.  The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."  God inspired Solomon to record these thoughts in order to remind us that physical life is temporary, and that in seeing death we should be reminded of the preciousness and purpose of this life.

The purpose of this life is for us to become like God (1 John 3:2).  This life is to prepare to have the true life God seeks to give us (John 10:10).  We generally have about 70 years in this life to do this (maybe a little longer - Psalm 90:10), so death can be reminder that we don't have all of the time in the world to become like God (Romans 8:14) or to die forever (Romans 6:23).

With this in mind, I have this news to pass along about my father:

Ralph Cleveland Dowd (88) of Hamilton, OH, passed away on November 10, 2022 after a full and productive life of going and doing, along the way never meeting a stranger.

      Ralph was born December 3, 1933. After graduating from Reilly High School in Reilly, OH, Ralph landed a job as a tool & die maker for Fisher Body (a division of General Motors) for 39 years - interrupted by military service from 1952-1956 in the U.S. Air Force.

      On September 8, 1953, Ralph married his high school sweetheart, Marion Caroline Smith, going on to have five boys, Richard, David, Daniel, Jeffrey and Edward.

      Ralph loved God and His way of life. He was baptized March 30, 1969 and was ordained a deacon on February 13, 1972 and an elder August 30, 1986. He loved being with, and serving, God's people.

      Ralph loved to make people laugh, loved playing cards, dominoes (and known to cheat if you didn't watch him!).

      He was predeceased by his wife, Marion, and is survived by his brother Jack (90), five sons, ten grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

      No funeral or graveside service is planned.

God gives us the blessing of the Sabbath day in order to pause and consider the life He is offering to us.  My father is just one of many, many first-fruits God has worked with to know the meaning and purpose of this life, to become His son, and to be a light and example to the world around us.

We mourn the loss of our loved ones when they die, but we can have joy, as Solomon said, in taking to heart the knowledge and understanding of what God has given to His people now, and what He will offer to all of mankind eventually - life forevermore (Psalm 133:3).

I wish you a profitable and value filled Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

12 November, 2022