SCRIPTURE:
13 “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” 14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.” 1 John 1:5b
REFLECTION: (written by Brandon McEntyre)
Have you ever lost something truly irreplaceable? I’m not just referring to belongings with great sentimental value. Sure, it would be devastating to lose all your material things in a disaster, but material possessions are largely replaceable. So, let me ask you to consider again – Have you ever lost something truly irreplaceable on this side of eternity?
Almost everyone has. A friendship, a relationship, a dream, a marriage, maybe even a child? You may have even travailed through seasons defined by multiple trials far greater than any one single loss. Maybe you even know what it’s like to lose the last thing you have been clinging to – Hope.
I am certain this is where the grieving mother in Luke 7 found herself. She was a widow, already having suffered the pain of losing her husband. He was surely her best friend and partner in life, her worldly protector, and her provider. Next, this widow watched as her only son died, leaving her even more alone and vulnerable than before. Her only son was assuredly her advocate, her defender, and her pri- mary worldly hope for the future. It seems that this woman’s life was littered with immeasurable losses.
That is exactly where Jesus finds this hurting mother. As Christ’s tenderness and compassion collided with the mother’s pain and sadness, a beautiful display of His resurrection power and His authority over death acted to reunite a grieving mother with her son. When Christ resurrected the young man in the middle of his funeral procession, relationship, dreams, and hope were restored for his grieving mother. This passage foreshadows a promise made to those of us who have accepted Christ as Savior and choose to live in a posture of surrendering our will to Him. We have been promised that we will experience and live in the ultimate restoration of God’s creation. Christ is actively “making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). Never again will there be a loss of friendships, marriages, family, or hope. It’s His promise to us.
We may not be there yet. We may still face seasons of pain and loss, but if our hope and trust is in Christ, we can choose to live in eternal confidence that we are not overlooked, and the bier upon which our burdens are loaded can be touched by the tenderness of Christ as well.
RESPOND:
- Where have you encountered irreplaceable loss in your story?
- What would it look like for you to trust the tenderness of Jesus to intercede on your behalf?
PRAYER:
Jesus, if we experience the pain of true loss, if we feel what we were once so assured of begin to slip away, or should we begin to feel the emptiness left in our heart where hope once resided, may your tenderness fill and renew us once again. May our eyes return to You and our hearts meditate on Your eternal promises as we trust in You alone for the outcome. Amen
