Mark 5
It is common practice in churches to
announce special prayer requests that are brought before the Lord. Recently I was attending a chapel service and
the pastor conducting the service announced the prayers, and one of them
grabbed my heart. A young pastor and his
wife had lost the three-year-old son. He
had complained of a stomach ache and gone to bed early. He died during the night.
I can think of few things that are as awful
as losing a child. When we hear of the
deaths of young ones it often brings tears to even the most hardened among
us.
Jesus was confronted by a man – a desperate
man – whose daughter was ill and dying.
His only desire was for his daughter to get well. However, it was too late. He had gotten to Jesus. Jesus had agreed to come. His daughter died while they were on the
way. Can you imagine his grief,
frustration, and hopelessness?
But Jesus was about to bring the Kingdom
of God to light in this man and his child’s life. He is the Lord of Life, and death to Him is
but a nap. He urged the father forward,
and Jesus showed that He is sovereign over the sleep of death. “Little girl, arise!” He said, and she
did.
God does not always give miracles like
that. He has done them, and we know He
can, but He often chooses not to. The
pastor and his wife probably wish they could hear Jesus say, “Little boy,
arise.” But it didn’t happen. Instead they, and we, have only God’s Word
and promise.
A day will come, though, when the Lord
of Life will raise that boy up. Jesus
will stand upon the earth again, and with a mighty cry and the voice of the
archangel that little boy and all who are baptized into Jesus’ death will
rise.
It is moments when we see we are
surrounded by death we must remember that God gave His own Son over to
death. He knows the pain of losing a
child. But He did not abandon His Son to
the grave. Jesus rose, and He has
demolished death’s power, and, in His resurrection, all who believe in Him
overcome death as well. He does not
abandon us to the grave either! We live
in Christ, now and forever.
Lord Jesus, comfort all who grieve. Fill me, and all Your people, with faith in
You that we may be a messenger of hope and life in You. Amen.
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