Mar
3
On the Death of a Child
Posted by Jon Trainer at 9:38 amFiled Under blogdom
A recent blog post on the Gospel Coalition website introduced me to Nancy Guthrie. Clicking on a link at the end of that piece led me to her family’s story. Take the time to read it. The death of one child in infancy is a hard burden to bear. The death of a second under the same set of circumstances could be devastating, but the Guthrie’s profound assurance of God’s sovereignty is a sure anchor. Browse through their website, look at the pictures of Hope and Gabriel, and hear their faith expressed in words of grief and hope. It is one thing to write a paragraph like the one below from a purely academic perspective, it is pure gold from the furnace of suffering. Nancy writes…
Though God’s sovereignty can be initially hard to accept, ultimately it is the only solid ground to stand on in this broken world, and eventually we realize that it is really a soft place to land. His sovereign power to redeem the suffering we experience in this sin-sick world is our only true hope and comfort. Without confidence in God’s sovereign oversight of the universe, life becomes meaningless, hope for justice fades, and everything seems random. The truth is, if God is not sovereign, then we’re in trouble. The sovereignty of God is a rock underfoot when the winds blow in our lives. It confronts what seems absurd in our existence. God’s sovereignty is our greatest hope as we face an uncertain and unknown future.
Wow! What an amazing paragraph and I haven’t even been to her web site yet! She packs a ton of truth into a few sentences.
I saw the link to the video on Justin Taylor’s blog and sent it to my share partners (the one with the disabled sister may particularly appreciate it), but I haven’t had a chance to look at it myself. Sounds amazing. Her comments sound really similar to some stuff I read from Joni Eareckson Tada, who also spoke from the crucible of painful experience. An affirmation of the sovereignty of God and the sweetness of that means so much more when it’s coming like that…
Hans