This morning I found out that a young woman I know was killed in a car accident. I have thought about it all day as I prayed for her family and community. It was an accident probably caused by icy roads. A moment in time that will forever change the lives of the ones she loved. Makes you think, doesn't it?
My grandpa died a couple of weeks before Christmas. He had been sick for a while with Leukemia. He seemed to fight it off pretty well but we all noticed how thin he was getting. The Leukemia finally overtook him and a man who was drinking coffee and spending time with family on Sunday took his last breath on Thursday night. While none of us were ready to say goodbye, all of us were thankful that he did not suffer for a long time.
Exactly three weeks later my grandma died. By the time she died the woman who had served as the VP of a bank for years was no longer able to remember who we were. My last conversation with her will remain in my memory. The day after grandpa died I stopped by on my way back to Big Rapids. She happened to be laying down for the night and I just wanted to pray with her. As I looked into her confused eyes I told her how much I missed her and how much I loved her. None of us, even the nurses that cared for her, told her about grandpa. We knew it would just make her anxious and that we would have to tell her again and again. To hear that she had died was a shock. She seemed to be doing well. That's when we were given the rest of the story.
At 6:30pm the nurse checked on grandma only to hear her say, "Tom died." (That's my grandpa). With wonder he asked, "How do you know that?" She replied, "He told me when he visited." By 8:30pm that night my grandma had passed in her sleep. I don't think she even woke up. My grandpa came and got her, I am certain.
Romans 8 reminds us that nothing can separate us from God's love in Christ Jesus:
37 But in all these things we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us. 38 I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers 39 or height or depth,
or any other thing that is created.
There is so much that separates us these days. Sometimes it seems that even among Christians the things we disagree about outnumber that which we have in common. We argue about what God really means in Scripture to the point that our being right excludes the all-encompassing, overpowering, non-judgmental love that God pours out upon all of creation in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately sometimes it takes a tragic loss like this family is experiencing today or the recognition that God is still in the business of mystery (like my family experienced) to ground us in that love.
Jesus makes it clear in John 13 when he says, "I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. 35 This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.”
Can it really be that simple?
Why is it so hard to let ourselves really believe that there are no boundaries on the love of God? That every single person bears the image of God? That it is our job in life and in death to be the vessels of this love, whether we think someone deserves it or not?
Please join me this night in praying for the Raven family
as they grieve the loss of their beloved Megan.
No comments:
Post a Comment