In Difficult Times

I attend a relatively small church in Oxnard with about 200 regulars each Sunday.  Dan & I have been at Faith Community since the fall of '98, 10 years now.  Throughout the past decade in our small congregation, we've seen people get diagnosed with cancer, people struggle with family problems, and on occasion people die.  This past weekend, one of our members, Doyle Souser was killed in the Metrolink accident in Chatsworth Friday.  He left behind a wife and 3 teenage children.  Everyone was on edge as we awaited news Friday late into the night and all day Saturday, until they finally verified that he was one of the deceased.  Naturally, people were crying and in shock, it reminds us of how short life can be.

The issue I struggled with was addressed this evening. Often times when these types of things occur, I feel so inadequate to help.  These types of things make me feel young, inexperienced, and foolish.  Devin Smith (a Master's college & seminary grad) preaches sometimes on Sunday evenings and tonight he focused on this very issue, and it was such a blessing to me!  Maybe his 3 main ideas will be encouraging to you to when you face people who have just experienced a tragedy or trial in their own life.  He spoke on John 11 when Jesus went to see Mary & Martha after Lazarus had died.

1. Christ has power over death.  Of course we see that in the fact that he raises Lazarus from the dead, but beyond that we know that Christ conquered death through his own death on the cross, so we will live on with Him in eternity.

2. Jesus wept.  He felt compassion for those that were left grieving, he was stirred with great emotion.  We too can and should feel and cry and grieve with our loved ones.

3. When speaking with Martha about Lazarus, Jesus turned the conversation back to himself by saying, "I am the resurrection & the life...." as Devin put it, we can never go wrong by always turning the conversation back to Christ.  

These are 3 simple observations from the passage, but as we see how Jesus Himself dealt with the death of a loved one, we too can take heed.  If you think about, pray for the Souser family this week as they begin to deal with this great grief.