October 5, 2006
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I’m a bit late responding to the horrific attack on the Amish school children. I really hadn’t even planned to write anything. Suffering is so personal and private. I couldn’t bear to read all the details. I knew just enough to be in continual prayer for the loved ones left behind.
Yesterday a dear friend quoted a remark that one of the Amish said in response to the deaths of the children which captivated my attention.
“A funeral to us is a much more important thing than the day of birth because we believe in the hereafter. The children are better off than their survivors.”
This man’s statement echoes a Scripture that I found many years ago. I’ve reminded myself of this Scripture many times over the years when I’ve had loved ones that have ‘fallen asleep’ in the Lord.
Eccl 7:2 – Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart.
I AM ‘taking it to heart’ this week. I’m reminding myself of the brevity of life and realizing that our life truly is just a vapor… a mist… .. here today and gone tomorrow. James 4:14. I realize this so much more the older I get. It’s hard to fathom that I’m nearly 50 years old. Where have the years gone? I have less years ahead of me than I do behind me. I must be determined to live each day for the glory of God.
I’ve been purposely setting my thoughts and meditations on the joy of heaven and the resurrection from the dead this week. I was reminded of Martha’s grief over the loss of her brother Lazarus and the disappointment she must have felt when Jesus did not come to heal her brother before he died. They knew that Jesus could heal but by delaying His return He would now reveal that He was Christ, the resurrection and eternal life. Death is our test. Do we believe that those who trust in Christ will live forever? Do we believe that if our loved ones trusted in Christ as their Savior that we WILL see them again? There is hope! We don’t grieve as those who have no hope!
John 11:25-26 – Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Those who have trusted Christ as their Savior have been promised that they will never, never die!
Oh, Lord Jesus, we pray that you will come quickly! We long for heaven where you will wipe away every tear!
Comments (11)
Wonderful post! Thank you for the scripture verses. Have a great day!
What a blessed post. Thanks for the encouraging comments in a time of evil actions. Blessings
Such a sad time. Its hard to understand how anyone could be so evil.
Have a blessed week & God keep you safe, healthy & happy. HUGS
Thanks for the reminder…heaven will make earth look like a dumpster….and I really spend a lot of time admiring God’s earthly creation…:) looking forward to a heavenly home someday….
I don’t know how people who do not have the hope of heaven make it through life. I am so happy to know Jesus and that he offered Himself for all of us to have that hope. This is a post filled with peace for the reader. Thank you Georgene!
Cynthia
Dropping in to say I hope your having a great day! Tami
Yes, we have hope!!! Thanks for sharing your heart.
I hope you and your family are doing ok…..
yes it was awful but they (THE AMISH) are special people.
Most of us get mad if someone just looks at us wrong,
and they forgave the killer and blessed his family.
Hugs Mary
that is a wonderful post. my husband and i have been profoundly impressed with how the amish have responded to this tragedy… thay can teach all of us a great deal!!
We heard about this on the radio and were shocked. That poor man must have been severly disturbed to pick on such innocent victims. Here death is so common and sometimes I find myself not even being upset by it. When a child dies here hardly anybody goes to the funeral. When an adult dies everybody in town comes. The infant mortality rate is so high that they almost expect children to die. It’s so sad and hurts so bad to think about it that you just close the door of your heart to feeling it much. I don’t know if I’m making sense. I guess you have to live here to understand what I’m saying.
This is so sad and unexpected. It really makes me remember that there is no safe place and that our only security is in the Lord.