Death and Pain

Some years ago a book titled "Why bad things happen to good people" hit the market by storm. Recently, I looked up the book to see who wrote it and what it was about. And I was impressed to know the author wrote about his own pain and finding peace with his son's death at age 14. What struck me most in the preface was his statement that while watching his son deteriorate before his eyes (he'd known his son would die young since he was 3) many people gave him answers, but none of the answers addressed his own questions about God and the pain we are forced to endure.

We all know as followers of Jesus that pain and sorrow will come our way. It comes not because we are followers, but because we live in a human world. The  biggest mistake we make in pain is passing it off with phrases that sound holy, but do not help the heart. "Carry your cross" or "God will not give you more than you can bear" or "his grace is sufficient for you" do not answer the question Mary herself put to Jesus when she found him in the temple, My son, why have you done this to us?

Pain and sorrow sear the soul. It can devastate a person, but it also offers the opportunity for a stronger faith and hope. The answers best for us are the ones we find ourselves as we walk through the darkness and pain. Somehow, in the mists and agony, we can find answers to the questions that plague the heart. We must just be patient.

I once read in a conference by Frederick Faber's that said those souls most like God tend to suffer the most in this life. Such thoughts do not help much at the time of pain. But being there for a friend, letting them know wordlessly that we care, reaching out to comfort a heart; these things help such thoughts bear fruit.