One is the loneliest number.

What if you died and nobody came to your funeral? Worse yet, what if you died and nobody even knew?

So I bet your wondering what made me think about this. Well, I saw this video about a guy called John May. John’s job is to track down the closest relative of people who die alone. When he succeeds, the deceased person gets a proper sendoff, surrounded by family and friends.

And the best part is John never fails. If he can’t find any loved ones, John takes their place and makes sure they are provided with the kind of burial everyone deserves. He even goes as far as to write a lovely eulogy, pick out a casket and a cemetery plot, plan and attend the funeral and he heads to the graveyard to oversee a the burial. And he does all of this for a complete stranger he has never met!

While it’s amazing what John does, I was struck by the thought of all those lonely graves and empty funeral services. And my heart sank. I started wondering what if this was me? Have I lived the kind of life that has left me without one person who would come to my funeral?

You see, God wants us to live in community with friends, family, and other believers. It’s not good for us to be alone. God said it himself right before creating Eve so Adam wouldn’t be alone. We can get weak when we are alone. And the enemy will use our loneliness to PREY on us and try to pull us further from God. We need the support of others and we can be the support for others.

Sometimes it’s hard to reach out and sometimes, frankly, it’s kind of scary. Making friends seemed so much easier when we were kids on a playground. But it’s not to late. If you’re reading this you are living a day blessed by God. A day that could be your first day to step up and say ‘Hi’. Maybe today is the day that you pick up the phone, or sign up for that Bible study at church, or talk to that person you always see at the grocery store.

But don’t forget this isn’t a popularity contest. Whether one or 100 people come to your funeral really isn’t the point. The point is God made us to live our happiest most fulfilled lives with other believers.

And if we all lived that kind of life people like John wouldn’t have to try and track down long-lost loved ones. And that would be a truly beautiful thing.