This transcript was auto-generated.

When we began looking at this chapter a few days ago I started out saying how do you handle the death of a loved one. I talked about that earlier and I just want to repeat it . 

Firstly, if you feel like crying, cry, we see here that even Abraham wept. I think it's also healthy to talk about the loss and to talk about the person you have lost. That is what the Biblical words mourn and lament, means, the words have an element of storytelling in them. So, talk about the dearly departed and tell stories about them. Sadly, during the time, I was a Pastor at a church I got to conduct over 10,(12 I think) funerals. I soon learnt the best thing to do when meeting with the family was simple to say, tell us what you remember about this person. For the first couple of funerals, I went in with a list of questions to ask so I knew I would have all the names right and the details correct but  I soon learnt it was better to just listen and fill in the blanks later. Hopefully the funeral planning then became part of the grieving process. It's a good thing to do choose the right people and to talk to them about the person when you have lost a loved one.

The second thing I think it teaches us is to make plans  Try to take care of things before you die, Christians should be the one group of people in society who should be able to talk about and think about death this side of eternity. Because we do not grieve as other do. Abraham of all people did it and we should be like Abraham.

I have a third thing to say, about what I believe this passage can practically teach us and it is in fact the main point of this passage. I believe, if you miss this point you miss the passage. The first thing is to mourn, the second thing is to plan, and the third thing is to demonstrate your faith. As I said in the last podcast, the primary purpose of this chapter was to demonstrate Abraham’s faith, but to show his faith in the face of death. The very act of buying the property is an act of outstanding faith on Abraham’s part demonstrating that he believed the promise of God. So, when somebody passes away who knows the Lord, can I put it like this, use it as a time to embrace God’s promises. Let everybody know that there is hope for that is what's going on in this passage. The time of death should be the time when the godly proclaimed their faith most loudly in view of their hope in God's promises. This is the time when we can say because someone trusted in Jesus Christ, they I have eternal life. Do you duck the issue, there is no better opportunity in the whole world to tell people that there's life after death than at a funeral? Never duck the issue, be as diplomatic as you can, be as gentle as a lamb, as wise as Solomon, and harmless as a dove. This is the time to tell people the Jesus Christ died for them and when he rose from the dead, he gave them the gift of eternal life. 

We of all people have hope because Christians believe that there's eternal life. So that is the time to, embrace it, and tell it, and if it's done wisely it does not offend people it ministers to them. That I believe is the application of story in our live of Abraham burying his wife in the land God had promised him.