I have experienced several deaths this year.
Most of these have occurred within my church family.
Losing someone is never easy, but two of these were
especially difficult because they were young.
Both died in accidents.
The first was a young lady of 19 who attended my church.
As such, I knew her for a very long time and watched her grow
up within the church.
She was an absolute joy to be around.
She made sharing the love of God look natural and effortless.
This is as it should be, so she was one up on many of us,
The second was a young man of 21.
I only knew him briefly over the summer as an intern where I
work.
I found him pleasant, agreeable and he too was a joy to be
around.
About a month after his internship ended, we received word
that he was gone.
While these young people were with us, I was struck by the
amount of potential they had.
It would have been nice to see where that potential would
have led them in their journeys.
Sadly, we will never know what might have been.
That perhaps is why it is so hard to say farewell to the
young.
One moment we expect them to be around for a long time.
The next, we find out they are gone.
And as deeply as we feel grief, we know their parents and
siblings feel it more.
Some will point to events like this and question the
existence of God.
Yet scripture reminds us that there is good in what we
perceive as tragedy.
Romans 8:28-29 (NET) - And we know that all things work
together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his
purpose, because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to
the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers
and sisters.
As for grief, we find both comfort and blessing in the
Beatitudes.
Matthew 5:4 (NET) - Blessed are those who mourn, for
they will be comforted.
We also have the promise that grief is with us but for a
time.
Revelation 21:4 (NET) - He will wipe away every tear
from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or
pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.
But, for now, it is okay for us to mourn the passing of the
young.
It reminds us how special they were.
May it also remind us that we now have even more work to do.
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on
Friday, September 27, 2019.
I’ll be back here on Friday, October
4, 2019
