David Tseng is 25 years old and terminally ill with genetic muscular disease. What's not normal for this suffering man is that he held his own funeral when he was still alive! That day, he was uplifted by eulogies and songs during this living funeral, witnessed by few hundred people including 100 doctors where he would donate his body for them for experiment.
"Live funeral" is not new concept. They were done before and strongly advocated by a Catholic priest who is suffering from lung cancer and launched a "goodbye tour" in late 2007 with a series of speeches to share his fight against lung cancer.
Living funeral. Is it a good idea?
I have mix feelings about it. As Christians, funerals are NOT about the dying person but more for the loved ones of the beloved who died. The services and eulogies are to encourage the living and not the dead. Let God take care of the dead and let humans love the living! (That doesn't mean we simply just get over with the dead person!)
However, one thing good about live funeral is that the dying person can speak his last message/s to all those who are not dying. Anyway, the dying person can speak lah, even not holding a funeral.
I am surprised to see a Taiwanese doing this because Chinese people are very superstitious. They will by all means avoid the word, 'Die!" Eeiyeh!
Last words, do not wait before you are about to die to do something for society and to glorify God. Do it NOW while you are still alive and kicking!
Is someone in the family needed your encouragement? Is a friend of yours wanted help? Is the church needed volunteers for a ministry?
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