The feeling of emptiness and sense of defeat that tends to follow the news of a death is not something that can be quenched with words… What words would ever suffice to console, to reassure, to soothe?

Whilst we know that as Christians that Death is swallowed up in Victory (1 Corinthians 15:54), and we long for the day that we would see Jesus and finally be free from hurt and tears, in this life that we live, it’s really not easy being the ones that are left behind as loved ones depart to their eternal glory in Christ.

I believe that the reason that we hurt so deeply is because separation is unnatural. When God created us, when He created Adam, it was for relationship, for closeness, for intimacy. He went on to create Eve saying that: It is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). We were never meant to be apart. And yet, in that very story of creation came the separation. Satan intervened. Death entered in…

But the story didn’t end there, God restored us, He was willing to bear the pain of death Himself. God the Father experienced the death of His own son, He experienced the emotional turmoil of watching Jesus be crucified. God knows exactly the pain we feel, He chose to experience it Himself, so that we could be restored.

Jesus experienced the pain of death physically. He knows the pain and trauma that we physically suffer, particularly those who have lain on sickbeds or experienced traumatic deaths, but He chose to die… He did it for us.

These thoughts come as my heart aches for my dear Pastors Nisha and Vernon Jacob and their family, as they mourn the loss of their dearest friend, Pastor Adrian Naidoo. The words of Pastor Vernon echo in my mind…

Grief is the price we pay for Loving

God chose to pay that price for us, For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting… (John 3:16)

There is an inner Peace and consolation that only comes from trusting in Him. That blessed assurance, the Hope of Salvation in Him… A Glorious Destiny

I am convinced that any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory that is about to be unveiled within us. The entire universe is standing on tiptoe, yearning to see the unveiling of God’s glorious sons and daughters!  For against its will the universe itself has had to endure the empty futility resulting from the consequences of human sin. But now, with eager expectation,  all creation longs for freedom from its slavery to decay and to experience with us the wonderful freedom coming to God’s children.  To this day we are aware of the universal agony and groaning of creation, as if it were in the contractions of labor for childbirth.  And it’s not just creation. We who have already experienced the firstfruits of the Spirit also inwardly groan as we passionately long to experience our full status as God’s sons and daughters—including our physical bodies being transformed.  For this is the hope of our salvation. But hope means that we must trust and wait for what is still unseen. For why would we need to hope for something we already have?  So because our hope is set on what is yet to be seen, we patiently keep on waiting for its fulfillment.

Romans 8;18-25

Thank you Lord for Your Peace that transcends all understanding… because some things are just impossible for us to understand…