Death wrapped its ropes around me; the
terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw
only trouble and sorrow. Psalm
116:3
You cannot watch a news program without sensing what
the Psalmist wrote about death’s ropes we’re currently
experiencing in the wake of the deadly COVID-19 virus. The terrors of the grave are being counted like cattle passing through the
slaughter pens. The news channels have
the counter graphics listing how many infected, how many deaths; we tabulate
the terror, moment by moment.
I am nearly 73 years old and I have never met my
aunts, who were twins. They were born shortly
before they died in the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. All I have to know about them is a few sketchy details told me by
family members and this picture showing a strong family resemblance on my
mother’s side. And, my reaction to all
of this, more than 100 years after these baby aunts of mine became part of a frightening
statistic (estimated at somewhere between 50 and 100 million deaths worldwide[1]), is a sense of trouble and sorrow. It troubles me that I know so little about
these babes who are elder sisters to my mother; it holds me in sorrow for the grave
shadows we see cast over cradles of those who have hardly begun to live.
My aunts died 30 years before I was born, but the
grief is still there for having never met them; there is a sense of loss that mingles
with those who suffer the loss of their blood.
From every record of wars, we count the dead. We mourn the losses of senseless violence in
the streets, unthinking carelessness of unsecured firearms, and infanticide of
the abortion clinics…chosen grief, trouble and sorrow. To be certain, Adam and Eve still mourn the
loss of Abel to violence, and Cain to his own sin.
But the one who suffered and grieved most in the
eons of time and eternity is Yahweh, Almighty God, who, grieved over the
suffering of humankind. After all, what
parent will not have a part of the death of his child? Who is unmoved by the suffering of a loved one? Multiply that by the billions of souls God
has created and watched to the grave.
And what, pray tell, does this all-powerful God do
about all this suffering? Amid the worst
of it God gives hope…and even joy. Peter
understood that:
You love him even though you have
never seen him. Though you do not see
him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting
him will be the salvation of your souls. This salvation was
something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied
about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of
Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about
Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward. They were told that
their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to
you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels
are eagerly watching these things happen.
1 Peter 1:8-12
To go along with my sense of trouble, sorrow, and loss
of the aunts I will never truly know until I enter Heaven’s gates and finally
see them, there is that inexpressible, yet joyful knowing the angels are
eagerly looking forward to God’s full reunion and restoration of all things. They can’t wait to see me, and see all my family,
and the human family completely at home, completely fulfilled in the glory of
Christ.
As
you watch the counters tick off how many infected, and how many deaths,
remember the statistic for death is 1 out of every 1; our mortality is assured
by the fact that we are human and it is appointed that we shall not live
forever in these bodies. But, just as
assuredly, our eternity of joy with God is securely offered at the cross. For those who place their trust in Jesus the
counters are sad for today, but a strong reminder of God’s love and power to
save us from trouble and sorrow.
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
