FROM THE PASTOR’S HEART
OP / ED BY DR. ROBERT KENNEDY
I just left our early morning prayer group, and this was the morning that the leader read the “Grief List.” The list contains the names of acquaintances of the prayer group who have lost loved ones, at least in the last three months. The leader said, “This morning, the list is short.”
This list consisted of at least 12 families. During the outrage of the Covid 19, our list was much longer. Some people on our list might never know we have been praying for them. However, we encouraged the prayer team to pray and reach out to the bereaved families as much as possible to let them know we are covering them.
In the group, it is my task, most mornings, to pray for the nation of the USA and the world at large. When I started to pray this morning, I first noted the disasters, which comprised geophysical, meteorological and climate events, including earthquakes, volcanic activity, landslides, drought, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and the loss of human lives. Even in the prayer, I began feeling overwhelmed and had to pause momentarily.
Although we left the time of prayer in the group, I was still thinking of the conditions in the world in which people have so little comfort today. I was still reflecting on the lists I heard being read on 9/11, telling of the deaths of over 2,996 victims in the World Trade Center, New York, the Pentagon, Virginia/DC, and Pennsylvania. More present to my mind is the deaths of more than 2,500 in the Morocco earthquake. Yes, it is disconcerting.
After the prayer, I continued meditating and mused, “Among the greatest human needs in today’s world is for comfort.” This thought sent me to the words of the apostle Paul when the people of Thessalonica were facing many deaths and were in despair. He instructed, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:18)
Which words, you might ask? The sentences prior state, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17).
In connection with the words of encouragement from Paul, I went on to read the following from one commentator of deep faith:
The hope and joy that this assurance brought to the young church at Thessalonica can scarcely be appreciated by us. They believed and cherished the letter sent to them by their father in the gospel, and their hearts went out in love to him. He had told them these things before, but at that time, their minds were striving to grasp doctrines that seemed new and strange, and it is not surprising that the force of some points had not been vividly impressed on their minds. But they were hungering for truth, and Paul’s epistle gave them new hope and strength, a firmer faith in, and a deeper affection for, the One who, through His death, had brought life and immortality to light.
Now, they rejoiced in the knowledge that their believing friends would be raised from the grave to live forever in the kingdom of God. The darkness that had enshrouded the resting place of the dead was dispelled. A new splendor crowned the Christian faith, and they saw a new glory in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
“Even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him,” Paul wrote. Many interpret this passage to mean that the sleeping ones will be brought with Christ from heaven, but Paul meant that as Christ was raised from the dead, God will call the sleeping saints from their graves and take them with Him to heaven. Precious consolation! Glorious hope! Not only to the church of Thessalonica but to all Christians wherever they may be. (Ellen White, Acts of the Apostles, p. 259)
All of the above makes me ask, how can people live without hope in the second coming of Christ? What hope is there for the world if there is no second coming? To those in Corinth who had doubts about the second coming, Paul raised a question in his extensive essay on the resurrection, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).
To me, it is hard to perceive life without the meaning, the destiny and, therefore, the comfort that comes from the hope of the second coming of Christ. Because of this, I often take a moment to share it with my family and friends. Without such hope, I would be anxious, fearful, overly stressed, confused, hopeless and suicidal. When I speak of the many disasters in the world, I can think of the assurance that a better day is coming. “This hope says Paul as an anchor of the soul.” (Hebrews 6:19)
When I stand or sit at the bedside of a dying family member, friend or even one not so close to me, I do express that Christ is coming. I speak of Christ resurrecting power. When I speak of the conditions of the world as they are, I proclaim Christ is coming. And I think, what a tragedy it would be if there were no such coming?
Yes, I rest my heart amidst all the disasters that are taking place in the world because I have the confidence, as Mahalia Jackson used to sing, “The only hope we have is in Christ Jesus.”
