Recently, I attended the\u00a0funeral of a friend who had died in a car crash. Many people would probably consider that ‘his life was\u00a0cut short’ or that ‘he died prematurely’ because he was not old and, in the normal course of things, could have expected to live to a ripe old age.<\/p>\n
It seems to be common for the message at funerals to include something\u00a0along the lines of ‘the Lord gives and the Lord takes away’ (which comes from Job 1:21 in the Bible). Such events hammer home to us the fact that it’s not people who are in control\u2014there is much that is beyond our control. This fact confronts the sense of entitlement that some (perhaps many) people seem to have these days.<\/p>\n
At this particular funeral, the pastor referred to another excerpt from\u00a0the same book of the Bible, in which Job asks, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). In principle, part of the message was that it should not surprise us that ‘bad’ things happen to ‘good’ people; in this life, we can expect to encounter both good and bad things. The pastor pointed out that one of the errors made by some of the people speaking to Job was that they assumed that if bad things are happening to someone, that person must have sinned against God. (Some people also assume the converse\u2014that good actions will necessarily result in tangible rewards from God. As another pastor once put it, ‘God is not your bellboy’\u2014God is not at people’s\u00a0beck and call in that way!)<\/p>\n
This reminded me of another verse:\u00a0“For he [God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). These excerpts from the books of Job and Matthew remind us that God is sovereign, no matter how things might seem to us from our (limited) perspective. For those who believe in God, that is\u00a0a comfort in times of sorrow.<\/p>\n
But it doesn’t end there. The Bible also promises a time when there will be no more mourning or pain for those who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ; a time when God will say, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). If we’re grieving now, let’s not dwell just on the present, but also look forward to the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Recently, I attended the\u00a0funeral of a friend who had died in a car crash. Many people would probably consider that ‘his life was\u00a0cut short’ or that ‘he died prematurely’ because he was not old and, in the normal course of things, could have expected to live to a ripe old age. It seems to be… Continue reading Giving and taking<\/span>