In my studies in the last few weeks I have been reminded of the agony that death imposes on those who are left behind. That is where the agony is, for the one who has died there is no more agony, suffering, or pain. I have been studying two women. One in the Old testament and one in the New.
In the Old Testament there is an account of a widow from Zarephath. During a time of great famine God sent the Prophet Elijah to provide for the widow and her son. After a time, her son got sick and died. You can imagine the pain she suffered.
Earlier she thought she and her son would starve to death because of the famine. Then along comes Elijah, and the oil and flour they needed for bread to eat, came to them in endless supply. Then her son gets sick and dies. She is upset of course and brings her son to Elijah. Elijah takes the boy to his room and pray's for him. God brings the boy back to life. You can further imagine how happy the mother was when Elijah returned her son to her, alive.
In a moment you will see how this widow's good news is a picture of the good news that will be a part of our lives one day.
The second woman is Mary, the mother of Jesus. I want you to picture her as she holds the lifeless body of Jesus just after they have taken Him down from the cross. I can't imagine the thoughts that were racing through her troubled mind at that moment. But today, in the loss of Genny, we can identify with that pain, at least in a small way.
I think everyone would answer this question differently, but try to put yourself in Mary's place and ponder this question. At what point, in the passion of Jesus, do you think that His mother Mary wished that He could just die so the suffering would be over? I don't think it is unreasonable to think that the thought of relief in death for her Son would have entered her mind.
I don't think it is unreasonable to wish that a person's suffering could end quickly. Genny suffered with this cancer for more than six years. Many times she asked about why the suffering had to drag on so long. It is natural to seek relief from pain and misery in life.
I think, only the resurrection of her Son could over shadow the relief she felt when Jesus had breathed His last, and the agony was over. The good news is that Jesus came to life again, and that is not just good news for His mother, it is good news for you and I today.
The good news about these two women's situations was that both of their sons were brought back to life. Study the New Testament and you will see Mary there in the presence of Jesus and His disciples after the resurrection. Study 1 Kings 17 and you will see the widow of Zarephath receiving her son back from Elijah the prophet, alive!
We are not likely to see Genny alive in the same way that Mary or the Widow of Zarephath saw their sons alive after they had died, but the promise of the New Testament is that there is going to be a resurrection for everyone one day. We will see Genny again. I want to read a passage in Paul's second letter to the Corinthian Church.
2 Corinthians 5:1-10 (NASB)
[1] For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
[2] For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
[3] inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.
[4] For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
[5] Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
[6] Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord -
[7] for we walk by faith, not by sight -
[8] we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
[9] Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.
[10] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Wow! What a great passage from the Bible. The Apostle Paul, almost 2000 years ago, gave us these words of comfort. In this passage he gives us several mental images.
I think most of us who were around Genny at all in the last days of her life, would have heard her express the desire to lay aside the tent and go to the house God had waiting for her. In this aspect of her departure we rejoice. Her suffering and pain are over forever.
But then, there are those who have been left behind. We must go on without Genny for a time. And that adds to the groaning we deal with on this earth. However, God is able to comfort and strengthen us in our sadness at the loss of Genny. And if we will let Him in, God is waiting to help us prepare for our own death.
NASB - New American Standard Bible (NASB). Cedar Rapids: Laridian, 2002.