Don't cry....

Luke 7 : 11 - 17

When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry".

Two days ago, on Sunday evening I had dinner with a friend.......it was the sixteenth anniversary of her son's death. He was just a late teen then. We had a lovely meal and as we talked there were memories of her son's favorite food from the nearby Chinese shop: fried rice with sweet and sour pork! And also his favorite food when he cooked for himself: fried eggs done in a huge kuali with its cover as a 'shield' from the oil splatters. It seems a long time ago, yet for every mother, a child is very, very precious and all memories are precious. It is a great blessing when we can remember our loved ones in this manner, assured deep in our hearts that they have 'gone home' to the place where there are many more 'rooms' prepared by Jesus awaiting us.

Jesus raised the widow's son. He came to life again as a living breathing human person: a true gift of life for his widowed mother. Jesus' compassion reaches out even to those who are in too much grief to ask him for help. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her.... He reached out at a time when she could not no longer hold out any hope for help from anyone. Luke does not describe her feelings......but just the mention that she was a widow and this her only son tells us much. As a widow in that society, she was defenceless; her son was her only lifeline.

I know that the Lord reached out to my friend at the time of her son's death. She had only just got to know the Lord a few months before that. She could not even speak of any great degree of 'faith' at that time. In her need, the Lord held on to her. I am sure there were many times she felt herself slipping, not able to hang on to him.....yet he held fast to her. "Don't cry..." does not mean we literally need not grieve the loss of loved ones. We will always have a special place in our hearts for them. But our grief does not lead to a dead end..... in our hearts we do know that, in Christ,...God has come to help his people.