"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep,
that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those
who have fallen asleep." 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
It was over 35 years ago that I called upon the parents of a child who was
dying.
Dad was a member of my church and had, thanks be to God, not neglected his
Christian duty as a father. He had been the spiritual head of his household and
all of his children knew Jesus as Savior. On the other hand, Mother had never
had much use for God's Son or the sacrifice He made to save sinners.
Now, with death so close, I thought things might be different for her. Hoping
the Spirit would touch her and give her a good mourning, I called on them and
spoke about passages from the Bible. I began with "Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). Then I spoke of other words from
Holy Writ:
* I touched on the beloved 23rd Psalm: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me ..." (Psalm
23:4a).
* Then there was the Gospel in a nutshell, "For God so loved the world that He
gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but
have eternal life" (John 3:16).
* I started to share the Savior's promise: "I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and
believes in Me will never die ..." (John 11: 25-26a).
The husband nodded when he heard the Bible's call to peace. In contrast the
mother seemed to be in pain. Finally, this woman who had no faith, interrupted:
"Go no further. I will not listen. When he dies, my son will be dead. We will go
to the cemetery. We will walk away. My heart will break, and I will spend the
rest of my life trying to forget him."
The passing of three and a half decades has not softened the horrible
helplessness of those words. Even now I can remember how, the last time I saw
her, that mother was still striving and struggling to forget her boy. For her,
and others like her, every day without the Savior has a bad mourning.
But in my opening paragraphs I also talked about the father, the Christian
father.
You know, that man's son had also died. Like his wife, the father attended the
service at church and the committal at the cemetery. Like his wife, he was
mourning, sorrowful, sad, but ....
But as St. Paul says, the father was not mourning as those who had no hope. He
knew a living Lord Jesus would someday, on Judgment Day, raise his son to life
(see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14), and grant them a family reunion that would never
end. For that father the words of Jesus had come true: "Blessed are they that
mourn, for they shall be comforted."
His life was filled with good mournings. I pray the same may be said for all of
us.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, death comes to all sinners. That means, sooner or later
we will mourn or be mourned. Grant that I -- and all I know -- have a solid,
unshakable faith in Jesus Christ who gave Himself, so we might be given a faith
which cannot be toppled by death or destroyed by life. Send Your Holy Spirit
upon this sad world and grant they may become people of faith and be given good
mournings. In Jesus I ask it. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus Lutheran Hour Ministries All rights reserved; not to be duplicated without permission.
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