There is probably no singular type of place that is more feared, or has more superstition associated with it than a graveyard. There's just something creepy about a place where the dead are laid and turning back into the soil from which they were created.
But, have you ever thought about the graves that aren't marked. This world has been here for a few thousand years, and there have been many deaths during that time. Some graveyards have become ruin, only to be built up into a city later on in time. Many places where houses now dot the landscape were perhaps once battlefields where bodies littered the ground.
There is something sad about an unmarked grave.
The Bible says in Numbers 19:16- And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
Death and the grave somehow make our bodies unclean. With all our medical advancements, I'm certain there are still many things we don't know about germs, viruses, bacteria, and the depth of what occurs during decomposition.
Christ says something very interesting in the gospel of Luke:
Luke 11:44- Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
In the Old Testament, when a Jew was considered unclean, there were certain steps they had to take to cleanse themselves. The point Jesus was making is these people were becoming defiled without even realizing it happened.
There are some things today that are like unmarked graves in our lives. They are like death under the surface that we hide, or sometimes aren't even aware are there, that cause problems in our day to day life.
Probably the most common is hidden sin. Things that we hide and think we are getting away with. It may be a long time before we have to face the consequences of them, but judgment will come, either on earth or before the Judgment Seat in heaven.
I Timothy 5:24- Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.
Another unmarked grave is that of a broken heart. Perhaps you wouldn't think of this as an unmarked grave, yet it is. It's something under the surface that is causing decay which cannot be seen by just looking. A broken heart will do damage to almost every inch of a person- physically, mentally, spiritually.
Psalms 69:20- Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.
There isn't a soul alive that doesn't have some form of unmarked grave in the garden of their soul. These graves won't all defile you. Some graves are given willingly, and they make an impact that isn't always seen or noticed.
Probably the saddest is the unmarked grave of sacrifice. So many people give of themselves, time or effort or money, until it hurts and yet their sacrifice isn't acknowledged or appreciated. And, yet this is probably the sweetest and most lovely unmarked grave there has ever been. God notices all of our sacrifices and he will reward us; one day this unmarked, just like all the others, will be given a name and recognition.
Ephesians 5:2- And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
Let us not forget that Christ also gave Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. This sacrifice is the only thing that makes all those heartbreaks and trials worth anything.
Luke 12:2- For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.
There is one last unmarked grave that I want to look at- the most dreadful of them all- damnation.
This unmarked grave is constantly churning, always consuming, devouring every soul that refuses to accept Christ's gift of salvation.
Isaiah 14:9- Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
This grave is not prejudiced. It cares not for station or race. It will take any and all who happen to stumble across it. The unrepentant soul that wickedly shouts their transgressions and expects all to accept their evil ways, the well meaning philanthropist that dies thinking they are good enough because of all they have accomplished, and the religious zealot who followed every rule their church laid out before them will all meet int his tormenting wasteland if the don't ask Christ to save them.
Proverbs 15:24- The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.
Every person will see their unmarked graves dug up and displayed before the all creation. Some will bring unbearable shame and others will bring loving commendation, but none will remain hidden and unmarked forever.
