John Piper on Worship as an End in Itself

"A non-treasured Christ is a nonsaving Christ.  Faith has in it this element of valuing, embracing, prizing, relishing Christ.  It is like a man who finds a treasure hidden in a field and 'from joy' sells all his treasures to have that field (Matthew 13:44). . . The locomotive of fact is not headed for heaven if it is not followed by a faith that treasures Christ and if it is not pulling a caboose-load of new, though imperfect, affections.

"Now what does this imply about the feast of worship?  Surprisingly, it implies that worship is an end in itself.  We do not eat the feast of worship as a means to anything else.  Happiness in God is the end of all our seeking.  Nothing beyond it can be sought as a higher goal.  John Calvin put it like this: 'If God contains the fullness of all good things in himself like an inexhaustible fountain, nothing beyond him is to be sought by those who strike after the highest good and all the elements of happiness.'

"If what transforms outward ritual into authentic worship is the quickening of the heart's affections, then true worship cannot be performed as a means to some other experience.  Feelings are not like that.  Genuine feelings of the heart cannot be manufactured as stepping stones to something else" (John Piper, Desiring God).

J.C. Ryle on Christ through Abraham and Jacob

"It was Christ to whom Abraham looked when he dwelt in tents in the land of promise.  He believed that in his seed, in one born of his family, all the nations of the earth should be blessed.  By faith he saw Christ's day, and was glad (John 8:56).

"It was Christ of whom Jacob spoke to his sons, as he lay dying.  He marked out the tribe out of which He would be born, and foretold that 'gathering together' unto Him which is yet to be accomplished.  'The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be' (Gen. 49:10)" (Holiness, J.C. Ryle).

John Calvin on the Holy Spirit and the Credibility of Scripture

"With what confidence it becomes us to subscribe to a doctrine attested and confirmed by the blood of so many saints?  They, when once they had embraced it, hesitated not boldly and [courageously], and even with great [eagerness], to meet death in its defense.  Being transmitted to us with such an earnest, who of us shall not receive it with firm and unshaken conviction?  It is therefore no small proof of the authority of Scripture, that it was sealed with the blood of so many witnesses, especially when it is considered that in bearing testimony to the faith, they met death not with fanatical enthusiasm (as erring spirits are sometimes wont to do), but with a firm and constant, yet sober godly zeal.  There are other reasons, neither few nor feeble, by which the dignity and majesty of the Scriptures may be not only proved to the pious, but also completely vindicated against the [complaints] of slanderers.  These, however, cannot themselves produce a firm faith in Scripture until our heavenly Father manifest his presence in it, and thereby secure implicit reverence for it.  Then only, therefore, does Scripture suffice to give a saving knowledge of God when its certainty is founded on the inward persuasion of the Holy Spirit.  Still the human testimonies which go to confirm it will not be without effect, if they are used in subordination to that chief and highest proof, as secondary helps to our weakness.  But it is foolish to attempt to prove to infidels that the Scripture is the word of God.  This it cannot be known to be, except by faith.  Justly, therefore, does Augustine remind us, that every man who would have any understanding in such high matters must previously possess piety and mental peace" (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion).

J.C. Ryle on Skepticism and the Christian Reaction

These words were written by J.C. Ryle in 1879, but they speak as if written today.  It is a long excerpt, but worth the time to read.

"Our lot is cast in an age of abounding unbelief, skepticism and, I fear I must add, infidelity.  Never, perhaps, since the days of Celsus, Porphyry and Julian, was the truth of revealed religion so openly and unblushingly assailed, and never was the assault so speciously and plausibly conducted.  The words which Bishop Butler wrote in 1736 are curiously applicable to our own days, 'It is come to be taken for granted by many people, that Christianity is not even a subject of inquiry, but that it is now at length discovered to be fictitious.  And accordingly they treat it as if, in the present age, this was an agreed point among all people of discernment, and nothing remained but to set it up as a principal subject of mirth and ridicule, as it were by way of reprisals for its having so long interrupted the pleasures of the world.'  I often wonder what the good bishop would have now said, if he had lived in 1879.

"In reviews, magazines, newspapers, lectures, essays and sometimes even in sermons, scores of clever writers are incessantly waging war against the very foundations of Christianity.  Reason, science, geology, anthropology, modern discoveries, free thought, are all badly asserted to be on their side.  No educated person, we are constantly told nowadays, can really believe supernatural religion, or the plenary inspiration of the Bible, or the possibility of miracles.  Such ancient doctrines as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the personality of the Holy Spirit, the atonement, the obligation of the Sabbath, the necessity and efficacy of prayer, the existence of the devil and the reality of future punishment, are quietly put on the shelf as useless old almanacs, or contemptuously thrown overboard as lumber!  And all this is done so cleverly, and with such an appearance of candor and liberality, and with such compliments for the capacity and nobility of human nature, that multitudes of unstable Christians are carried away as by a flood, and become partially unsettled, if they do not make complete shipwreck of faith.

"The existence of this page of unbelief must not surprise us for a moment.  It is only an old enemy in a new dress, an old disease in a new form.  Since the day when Adam and Eve fell, the devil has never ceased to tempt men not to believe God, and has said, directly or indirectly, 'You shall not die even if you do not believe.'  In the latter days especially we have warrant of Scripture for expecting an abundant crop of unbelief.  'When the Son of man comes, shall He find faith on the earth?'  'Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse,' 'There shall come in the last days scoffers' (Luke 18:8; 2 tim. 3:13; 2 Peter 3:3).  Here in England skepticism is that natural rebound from semi-popery and superstition which many wise men have long predicted and expected.  It is precisely that swing of the pendulum which far-sighted students of human nature looked for; and it has come.

"But as I tell you not to be surprised at the widespread skepticism of the times, so also I must urge you not to be shaken in mind by it, or moved from your steadfastness.  There is no real cause for alarm.  The ark of God is not in danger, though the oxen seem to shake it.  Christianity has survived the attacks of Hume and Hobbes and Tindal, of Collins and Woolston and Bolingbroke and Chubb, of Voltaire and Payne and Holyoke.  These men made a great noise in their day, and frightened weak people, but they produced no more effect than idle travelers produce by scratching their names on the great pyramid of Egypt.  Depend on it, Christianity in like manner will survive the attacks of the clever writers of these times.  The startling novelty of many modern objections to revelation, no doubt, make them seem more weighty than they really are.  It does not follow, however, that hard knots cannot be untied because our fingers cannot untie them, or formidable difficulties cannot be explained because our eyes cannot see through or explain them.  When you cannot answer a skeptic, be content to wait for more light; but never forsake a great principle.  In religion, as in many scientific questions, said Faraday, 'The highest philosophy is often a judicious suspense of judgment.'  He that believes shall not make haste: he can afford to wait" (J.C. Ryle, Holiness).

John Calvin on Those Who Refute the Authority of Scripture

"It is preposterous to attempt, by discussion, to rear up a full faith in Scripture.  True, were I called to contend with the craftiest despisers of God, I trust, though I am not possessed of the highest ability or eloquence, I should not find it difficult to stop their [boisterous] mouths; I could, without much ado, put down the boastings which they mutter in corners, were anything to be gained by refuting their [criticisms].  But although we may maintain the sacred word of God against gainsayers, it does not follow that we shall forthwith implant the certainty which faith requires in their hearts.  Profane men think that religion rests only on opinion, and therefore that they may not believe foolishly, or on slight grounds, desire and insist to have it proved by reason that Moses and the prophets were divinely inspired.  But I answer, that the testimony of the Spirit is superior to reason.  For as God alone can properly bear witness to his own words, so these words will not obtain full credit in the hearts of men, until they are sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit.  The same Spirit, therefore, who spoke by the mouths of the prophets, must penetrate our hearts, in order to convince us that they faithfully delivered the message with which they were divinely entrusted.  This connection is most aptly expressed by Isaiah in these words, 'My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of they mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever' (Isa 59:21).  Some worthy persons feel disconcerted, because, while the wicked murmur with impunity at the Word of God, they have not a clear proof at hand to silence them, forgetting that the Spirit is called a [promise] and seal to confirm the faith of the godly, for this very reason, that until he enlightens their minds, they are tossed to and fro in a sea of doubts" (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion).

J.C. Ryle on the Unsearchable Riches of Christ

"Set down in your minds that there are unsearchable riches in the characteristic qualities, attributes, and dispositions and intentions of Christ's mind towards man, as we find them revealed in the New Testament.  In Him there are riches of mercy, love and compassion for sinners; riches of power to cleanse, pardon, forgive, and to save to the uttermost; riches of willingness to receive all who come to Him repenting and believing; riches of ability to change by His Spirit the hardest hearts and worst characters; riches of tender patience to bear with the weakest believer; riches of strength to help His people to the end, notwithstanding every foe without and within; riches of sympathy for all who are cast down and bring their troubles to Him and, last but not least, riches of glory to reward, when He comes again to raise the dead and gather His people to be with Him in His kingdom.  Who can estimate these riches?  The children of this world may regard them with indifference, or turn away from them with disdain; but those who feel the value of their souls know better.  They will say with one voice, 'There are no riches like those which are laid up in Christ for His people'"  (J.C. Ryle, Holiness).

Seeking Jesus on His Terms

What does faith look like?  How does that faith begin?  What catalyst begins that journey of faith?  How can we know our faith is genuine?  What does Jesus say about genuine faith?  What is the object of our faith?

As I studied John 4:43-54 these are the questions that continued to run through my mind.  The question of genuine faith is not a subject new to us in the book of John.  After cleansing the temple and doing more signs and wonders in the presence of others, many came to believe in his name (John 2).  But Jesus would not entrust himself to them because he knew their hearts.  Their faith was not genuine.  So, can one believe without believing?  Can genuine, prolonged faith rest upon the miraculous?

 

Heed the words of Oswald Chambers:

“Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace” (Oswald Chambers in Run Today's Race).

Join us this week as we once again look at a great sign of Jesus, the healing of a boy from miles away.  May the Word of God and the Spirit of God speak to each of us, growing us in our faith, and prepare us for His call for our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

Jesus Knows What is in Man

Amy once had a friend name Susan. They seemed very close and often where one was the other would not be too far away.  Over time Amy began to notice that when Susan would be having issues in life a two-hour phone call would not be far away.  Yet Susan didn’t have much time for Amy’s struggles or issues.  Any call from Amy would eventually have the conversation turned to Susan’s life and issues. 

After Susan got married her relationship with Amy became nearly nonexistent.  Amy was no longer needed in Susan’s life and so Amy was forgotten and abandoned by her once “close” friend.  Susan had a friendship with Amy, not because she loved and cared for Amy, but because Amy was willing to be used to fulfill Susan’s needs and expectations.  Once someone else could meet those needs and expectations, Amy was out of the picture.

In John 2:23-25 Jesus finds himself in the midst of people who “believe in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing” (John 2:23).  Some began to follow Jesus based off on signs and miracles He was performing, not out a true devotion to Him as the Messiah.  And Jesus knew it.  Once His signs became old news these “followers” would quickly turn on Him.

This type of devotion was not a surprise to Jesus.  He understood the heart of man and so He “did not entrust himself to them” (John 2:24).  And yet, what Jesus does to the hearts of those who are fully devoted to Him in faith can only be described as amazing and life changing.

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community Church as we look at Christ’s reaction to those who follow Him because of signs and what He does to the hearts of those who follow Him out of faith alone.  May we be prayerfully prepared to encounter Him as we gather with His people and read His Word.

Striving to know Christ and make Him known,

Pastor Mark

J.C. Ryle: If We Are Thirsty We Must Have Simple Faith

"He that thirsts and wants to come to Christ must remember that simple faith is the one thing required.  By all means let him come with a penitent, broken and contrite heart; but let him not dream of resting on that for acceptance.  Faith is the only hand that can carry the living water to our lips.  Faith is the hinge on which all turns in the matter of our justification.  It is written again and again that 'whoever believes shall not perish, but have eternal life' (John 3:15,16).  'To him that works not, but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness' (Rom. 4:5).  Happy is he that can lay hold on the principle laid down in that matchless hymn:

     'Just as I am, without one plea,
     Save that Your blood was shed for me,
     And that You bid'st me come to You,
     O Lamb of God, I come!'"

John Calvin on 2 Timothy 2:13

"If we are faithless, he remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself."  (2 Timothy 2:13 - ESV)

"The meaning is, that our base desertion takes nothing from the Son of God or from his glory; because, having everything in himself, he stands in no need of our confession.  As if he had said, 'Let them desert Christ who will, yet they take nothing from him; for when they perish, he remains unchanged.

"Christ is not like us, to swerve from his truth.  Hence it is evident, that all who deny Christ are disowned by him.  And thus he drives away from wicked apostates the flatteries with which they soothe themselves; because, being in the habit of changing their hue, according to circumstances, they would willingly imagine that Christ, in like manner, assumes various forms, and is liable to change; which Paul affirms to be impossible.  Yet, at the same time, we must firmly believe what I stated briefly on a former passage, that our faith is founded on the eternal and unchangeable truth of Christ, in order that it may not waver through the unsteadfastness or apostasy of men."

Be Bold, Not Fearful

“5-year old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper.  She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn't want to go in alone.  ‘It's dark in there and I'm scared.’  She asked again, and he persisted.  Finally she said, ‘It's OK--Jesus will be in there with you.’  Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it.  He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once an idea came, and he said: ‘Jesus, if you're in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?’"  (Charles Allen, Victory in the Valleys.)

It is natural for us to be fearful.  Noises in the dark that remain unseen, avoiding things our mind tells us will cause harm, and situations that force us out of our comfort zone such as standing on stage in front of a crowd.  We all have fears.  But when it comes to obeying the commands of Christ (love God, love others, and make and teach disciples) fears can overtake our desire to be bold for Christ.

In 2 Timothy 1:6-7, Paul encourages Timothy to be bold in his faith.  He also urges Timothy to use his God-given gifts with boldness, not fear.  “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).  What does this mean for us today?  How do we fight our natural fear of sharing our love for Christ?  What happens when we move through life with spiritual boldness?

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community as we strive to understand God’s Word and wrestle with these questions and more.  Come prayerfully prepared to hear the truth of the gospel message and how God uses his people for his glory.

Striving to know Christ and make him known,

Mark

J.C. Ryle: Our Love of Christ and Our Faith in Him

"A true Christian loves Jesus Christ.  This love is the inseparable companion of saving faith.  A faith of devils, a mere intellectual faith, a man may have without love, but not that faith which saves.  Love cannot usurp the office of faith.  It cannot justify.  It does not join the soul to Christ.  It cannot bring peace to the conscience.  But where there is real justifying faith in Christ, there will always be heart love to Christ.  He that is really forgiven is the man who will really love (Luke 7:47).  If a man has no love to Christ, you may be sure he has no faith."

J.C. Ryle: The Little Religion of Many Christians

"Of all sights in the church of Christ, I know none more painful to my own eyes, than a Christian contented and satisfied with a little grace, a little repentance, a little faith, a little knowledge, a little charity and a little holiness.  I do beseech and entreat every believing soul that reads this tract not to be that kind of man.  If you have any desires after usefulness, if you have any wishes to promote your Lord's glory, if you have any longings after much inward peace, be not content with a little religion.

"Let us rather seek, every year we live, to make more spiritual progress than we have done, to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus; to grow in humility and self-acquaintance; to grow in spirituality and heavenly-mindedness; to grow in conformity to the image of our Lord.

"Let us beware of leaving our first love like Ephesus, of becoming lukewarm like Laodicea, of tolerating false practices like Pergamos, of tampering with false doctrine like Thyatira, of becoming half dead, ready to die, like Sardis.

"Let us rather covet the best gifts.  Let us aim at eminent holiness.  Let us endeavor to be like Smyrna and Philadelphia.  Let us hold fast what we have already, and continually seek to have more.  Let us labor to be unmistakable Christians.  Let it not be our distinctive character, that we are men of science, or men of literary attainments, or men of the world,  or men of pleasure, or men of business, but 'men of God.'  Let us so live that all may see that to us the things of God are the first things, and the glory of God the first aim in our lives, to follow Christ our grand object in time present, to be with Christ our grand desire in time to come.

"Let us live in this way, and we shall be happy.  Let us live in this way, and we shall do good to the world.  Let us live in this way, and we shall leave good evidence behind us when we are buried.  Let us live in this way, and the Spirit's word to the churches will not have been spoken to us in vain."

J.C. Ryle: Biblical Examples of Victorious Saints

"This is the road that saints of old have trodden in, and left their record on high.

• "When Moses refused the pleasures of sin in Egypt, and chose affliction with the people of God, this was overcoming.  He overcame the love of pleasure.
• "When Micah refused to prophesy smooth things to king Ahab, though he knew he would be persecuted if he spoke the truth, this was overcoming.  He overcame the love of ease.
• "When Daniel refused to give up praying, though he knew the den of lions was prepared for him, this was overcoming.  He overcame the fear of death.
• "When Matthew rose from the receipt of custom at our Lord's bidding, left all and followed Him, this was overcoming.  He overcame the love of money.
• "When Peter and John stood up boldly before the council and said, 'We cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard,' this was overcoming.  They overcame the fear of man.
• When Saul the Pharisee gave up all his prospects of preferment among the Jews, and preached that very Jesus whom he had once persecuted, this was overcoming.  He overcame the love of man's praise.

"The same kind of thing which these men did you must also do if you would be saved.  They were men of like passions with yourself, and yet they overcame.  They had as many trials as you can possibly have, and yet they overcame.  They fought.  The wrestled.  They struggled.  You must do the same.

"What was the secret of their victory?  Their faith.  They believed on Jesus and, believing, were made strong.  They believed on Jesus and, believing, were held up.  In all their battles, they kept their eyes on Jesus, and He never left them nor forsook them.  'They overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony,' and so may you (Rev. 12:11)."

J.C. Ryle on the Christian's View of Christ

"I am afraid that many who profess Christ in our day have lost sight of our Lord's person.  They talk more about salvation than about their only Savior, and more about redemption than the one true Redeemer, and more about Christ's work than Christ Himself.  This is a great fault, one that accounts for the dry and shriveled spirit that infuses the religious lives of many who profess faith.

"As ever you would grow in grace, and have joy and peace in believing, beware of falling into this error.  Cease to regard the Gospel as a mere collection of dry doctrines.  Look at it rather as the revelation of a mighty living Being in whose sight you are daily to live.  Cease to regard it as a mere set of abstract propositions and [hard to understand] principles and rules.  Look at it as the introduction to a glorious personal Friend.  This is the kind of Gospel that the apostles preached.  They did not go about the world telling men of love and mercy and pardon in the abstract.  The leading subject of all their sermons was the loving heart of an actual living Christ.  This is the kind of Gospel which is most calculated to promote sanctification and fitness for glory.  Nothing, surely, is so likely to prepare us for that heaven where Christ's personal presence will be all, and that glory where we shall meet Christ face to face, as to realize communion with Christ, as an actual living Person here on earth.  There is all the difference in the world between and idea and a person."

(Holiness, Ryle, J.C., p. 183)

Justified by Faith that Works

He was asked to do a horrific thing: take a life.  But not just any life.  The life of his own son.  Who would ask someone to do such an appalling act?  And even more, who would follow through on such a request and then be considered a great man for even considering such an act?

She was shocked as two men barged into her home one evening.  They were running from the authorities and needed a place to hide.  She didn’t hesitate once she found out their identity.  She willingly hid them, not only keeping them out of prison but saving their lives in the process.  Who would do such a thing for perfect strangers and then be considered a great woman for going against the authority of her home town?

These are two stories which are very familiar to those of us who have a church background.  We know the stories of Abraham and Rahab.  But James takes these two stories in a very different, and at times very uncomfortable, direction for us.  He claims that these two well-known Biblical figures were justified by their works.  But what about Paul’s words that Abraham was justified by faith alone?  Are these two great Biblical teachers contradicting one another?  What does this conversation have to do with me and my faith?

This week we will explore James 2:20-26 to discover that James and Paul to not disagree.  They are only saying the same thing in a different way.  In fact, these two great Biblical figures complement one another.  Join us this week as we study God’s Word and praise His great name together.

Faith That Works

“A young boy, on an errand for his mother, had just bought a dozen eggs. Walking out of the store, he tripped and dropped the sack. All the eggs broke, and the sidewalk was a mess. The boy tried not to cry. A few people gathered to see if he was OK and to tell him how sorry they were. In the midst of the works of pity, one man handed the boy a quarter. Then he turned to the group and said, ‘I care 25 cents worth. How much do the rest of you care?’” (Stanley C. Brown)

James 2:19 tells us that faith without works is dead.  This week we will be tackling a difficult foundational doctrine, faith and works.  Paul says that we are saved by faith alone, not by the law.  James says that we are saved by works and not faith alone.  Do these two Godly men of Scripture disagree?  Can my works really reveal my faith in Christ?  What is the difference between true faith and false faith? How are works involved in faith?

Like the man who paid 25 cents to the young boy, may we learn how our faith and our works act together to reveal our true faith in Christ.  For as James tells us, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”  May the truth of God’s Word speak to our hearts through His servant James and give us strength to strive to live out the call He has for His people.

James: an Introduction

In 1517, Martin Luther literally shocked the entire religious world by writing ninety-five declarations regarding baptism and forgiveness of sins.  Thus was the beginning of the Reformation Movement where the church split into Protestant and Catholic.  Martin Luther challenged the thoughts of faith, religion, and salvation during his time and ours.  In fact, he was so adamant about salvation through faith alone that it affected his reading of some of the book of Scripture that had been included in the Bible for centuries.

The book of James was such an area where Luther had his issues.  He felt that the book of James was good for Christian teaching but was not inspired scripture.  Below are two translated quotes from around 1530.

The book of James “is flatly against St. Paul and all the rest of Scripture in ascribing justification to works” and “its purpose is to teach Christians, but in all this long teaching it does not once mention the Passion, the resurrection, or the Spirit of Christ.”

Luther certainly makes some good points, but is he right?  Does James really not talk about the salvation of Christ?  Does James talk about salvation by works and not faith alone?  Is what is found in the book of James mainly good for teaching Christian living?  How should this affect our own reading of James and the rest of Scripture?

One of the issues that arose in Luther’s time had to do with his desire to translate the Bible into the language of the people.  This was so that the common believer could read the truth of God’s Words for themselves.  So let us study God’s Word for ourselves by opening the book of James together.  This Sunday will be a simple introduction to the book of James but though simple may still be deeply relevant to us as believers today.  As we make our way through James may God open His truth to us as His Church and apply that truth to our lives.  May we be prayerfully prepared to have the Holy Spirit move in our hearts and lives through His Word.

The Procrastinator

When I was younger I had very bad habit of procrastination when it came to school work.  There were many Christmas vacations I would wait until the day before I was to return to the classroom to finish the homework I was assigned.  Needless to say, it was a very stressful and exhausting day.  There were many times that I did not finish all the work and paid the consequences on my report card.

When we think of procrastination we consider the work that could be done today but is put off until tomorrow.  How often do we think of the connection between faith in Christ and procrastination?  There are some around us who have heard and even understand the gospel message but are unwilling to take the step of faith essential for salvation.  The sacrifice required will mean rejecting what they hold dear today and so they put faith off until tomorrow.  Unfortunately, tomorrow never comes.

In Acts 24 we read about Paul’s defense before the governor Felix.  The contrast between Paul’s faith and Felix’s procrastination is astounding.  Never put off for tomorrow what is urgent today.  What is more urgent than your eternal destination?  Felix procrastinated and faced the consequences.  May we be prayerfully prepared for God’s prodding of our hearts toward faithfulness as we study His Word this week.

How Do You Deal With the Loss of a Child?

Our beautiful daughter Kahra born February 2009

It was on July 28, 2005 that my wife and I had a miscarriage at around eleven weeks along and we lost our first child.  To this day the emotions are fresh and the feelings of a life lost are still raw.  The wound has healed, but the scar is deep and still very sensitive.

To this day my wife and I struggle to explain exactly why God would take something so precious to us without knowing a face or personality.  Having a child was a great desire for us both.  Perhaps we weren't ready.  Maybe we both needed to grow up a little before the pressure of a baby in our life changed everything.  Perhaps there is no explanation that can satisfy the pain of our experience.

But we do know that God is God and we are not.  Whatever he has planned for our lives we, as his children, must submit to and glorify him.  Through that difficult time we slowly healed and opportunities arose for us to care for and cry with others who had lost a child.  We understood the pain.  We understood the confusion.  We understood the loneliness that so many parents go through when they lose a child.  We understood the completely unbiblical things people would say to make us feel better.  (i.e. - "Your baby must have been deformed and God knew you couldn't handle it." or "God needed him with him." as if God needs anything from us.) 

We are better people because of the loss of our child.   God is more glorified with our lives now than before our loss.  In the end, to Him be the glory.

If you encounter those who have lost a young child or older child it may be difficult to know how to react.  Lisa Blanco has written a great article on Gospel Coalition's blog here on the loss of their son who was born six week premature.  If you are in a ministry of any sort (full-time or volunteer) please read her article.  It will proved great insight into how God works through such terrible circumstances and our reaction to those circumstances and God as His children.