A Moment With Pastor Fred

Happy Holidays!  Happy? 

For those suffering the loss of a loved one, the holidays can seem like something you survive rather than you enjoy. It is at this time of the year we are reminded more of the empty place at the  table. I’ve been told by some they would like to find a quiet place to hide till January 2. While we can’t replace the loss of a loved one, we can, as the Body of Christ, come along side sufferers offering our love and care.

Nancy Guthrie (one very familiar with suffering) writes, “I have never been able to figure out why crowds are difficult when you’re grieving, but they are.” New folks asking questions, seeing long time friends can trigger the pain of your own loss. Nancy advises, don’t ignore the obvious – let those grieving know you remember their loved one. Ask them to perhaps share in a favorite memory. Listen. Care. Let them cry. And if tears come, cry with them.  We are to weep with those who weep.

I am so thankful for that verse in the Gospel of John – “Jesus wept.” He cried at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. But tears are not a problem to be solved – they are a means by which God created us to express sadness. Tears do not reflect a lack of faith. Tears say we are human. And God weeps with us.

Let us remember the Lord Jesus came to wipe away all our tears. He came to defeat death.  He came to solve our greatest problem which is our sin. This is the hope of Christmas. It is the truth we and all fellow sufferers need to remember during the holiday season. What a promise God gives us. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.