Stillborn
I went to a funeral for a stillborn baby today. Heartbreaking. The couple knew their baby only had a 3% chance of surviving because of a rare genetic condition. But that doesn't lessen the pain. It's beyond sad.
I have a few thoughts as I reflect on the funeral.
First of all, I'm more grateful than ever for my children. I don't take them for granted. It makes me cherish every moment I have with them even more.
I get ticked off at the enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy! It just seems so tragic for a life to be cut so short. The parents will never see their little baby take her first steps or say her first words. You think of all that stolen potential. But I believe that God is in the business of giving back what the enemy takes away.
The parents won't experience all the joys of raising their child on earth. But it's at times like this where the hope of heaven is the only solace. I believe heaven is the place where each of us becomes who we were truly intended to be. In fact, God will reveal our true name. While the time here on earth was so short--a few months in the womb. They have all eternity to look forward to.
I've never heard of anyone doing this, but the dad is an artist. He painted a resurrection scene on the inside of of the casket. The little baby isn't just looking at a picture. She's experiencing the full reality of heaven right now!
I have a few thoughts as I reflect on the funeral.
First of all, I'm more grateful than ever for my children. I don't take them for granted. It makes me cherish every moment I have with them even more.
I get ticked off at the enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy! It just seems so tragic for a life to be cut so short. The parents will never see their little baby take her first steps or say her first words. You think of all that stolen potential. But I believe that God is in the business of giving back what the enemy takes away.
The parents won't experience all the joys of raising their child on earth. But it's at times like this where the hope of heaven is the only solace. I believe heaven is the place where each of us becomes who we were truly intended to be. In fact, God will reveal our true name. While the time here on earth was so short--a few months in the womb. They have all eternity to look forward to.
I've never heard of anyone doing this, but the dad is an artist. He painted a resurrection scene on the inside of of the casket. The little baby isn't just looking at a picture. She's experiencing the full reality of heaven right now!
11 Comments:
So Pastor are you saying that death is from the enemy? And that it wasn't God's will...
Yes and No.
Death is a byproduct of the fall of man. If Adam and Eve hadn't sinned they would have never died. Immortality was God's Plan A. Sin introduced entropy--the process of death and decay.
John 10:10 says the thief comes to "steal, kill, and destroy." Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly."
Of course, the flip side is where it gets good. For Christ followers, death is just a change of address. It's not the end. It's a new beginning.
On one level, even death is merciful. It is the exit door from the imperfect world we live in and the entrance to a place where there is no more mourning or crying or pain.
Feel free to comment on my comment. I'm very sensitized to life and death issues because of today's funeral.
All I know is this: Jesus is the resurection and the life. Death overpowered life at the cross, but life overpowered death at the grave!
Great answer. When I read the question posted, my mind immediately went in the same direction.
Sorry Pastor, but your answer brought me more doubts. If the mentioned death is not God's will, why it happened specifically with that family? If death is from the enemy how come it "is just a change of address"? If death is a consequence of our sins, why some people have the possibility to happily rase their children why others have to experience the worst pain of a stillborn baby's death?
I'm not 100% sure what you're asking :) My original response was a 30,000 foot answer because I thought your question was more generic. It seems like you might be referring to this specific instance. Was it God's will for this little baby to die?
My answer is still "yes" and "no."
I think truth is found in the tension of opposites. Job 11:6 says, "True wisdom has two sides." The deepest truths are typically paradoxical.
Was it God's will for this baby to die? Absolutely not. Scipture says, "God is not willing that any should perish."
Did God know this baby would die? Yes. I think God has allotted a unique number of days to each of us. In that sense, our lifespan is "God's will." I don't think any of us live a day longer or shorter than God intended.
It probably goes beyond the scope of a "comment" but there is a difference between "predestination" and "foreknowledge."
One last thought. Life is unfair. There are some questions that will never be answered this side of eternity. But all of us have the "equal opportunity" to spend eternity with God in heaven. It's an open invitation.
It seems like this little baby and her family were robbed. And they were on the human plane. But heaven is the greater equalizer. Forever will make any length of time seem like a "vapor" to use language from the book of James.
By the way, I'm sure the family would appreciate your prayers. Especially their other kids. My heart really breaks for them.
I had a chance to talk to the family on a few occasions. I had been praying for the 3% chance...now I'll pray for the family to be able to continue. It's really terrible and tragic. In a way I think that modern medicine has come a long way...but still has a long way to go. So many things have to go right for a baby to come into this world, that it is a miracle that so many of them do come out ok. I count myself lucky every day to know that I came out ok, and that I have a beautiful daughter. Does the family need anything from the church?
Thanks so much for asking.
I think prayer support is the primary need right now!
i think that was a lovely post. visit
www.penny-lane.memory-of.com
if you like.
Thanks so much for the link :) Isn't it amazing the way music can soothe the soul?
Wait till we hear the angels singing :)
Speaking of life and death issues...my mother died from cancer six years ago. We prayed for her healing and she believed that God would heal her. The enemy tried everything he could to steal, kill and destroy her body and our family. She eventually died and I discovered that God did indeed heal her. There were many emotional issues from her past that we were unaware of that even if there had been a physical healing, she would not have been emotionally healed.
The upside in seeing how God used this death and allowed it to happen is that a year later, one of our neighbors who had attended the memorial service told me he went forward during a Billy Graham crusade and gave his life over to Christ. He told me that at the memorial service a year earlier he had sensed a prescence and he had spent the past year seeking it out and found it at the cross of Christ.
Death is both of the devil as a consequence of sin and is also a mighty tool used and allowed by God to redeem us as sinners!
Thanks so much for sharing this comment :)
I think Heaven is the ultimate healing!
Isn't it amazing the way God can use something the devil intended for harm and turn it into good?
Praise God.
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