Longtime reader and friend of the blog Eduardo the Magnificent wrote in with some very sad news:
[M]y father died on Monday afternoon. Any prayers would be appreciated.
I am truly sorry to see this. My prayers are with Eduardo the Magnificent and his family, and I am sure that you will join me in expressing support and condolences for his loss.
It is often seen as trite by non-Christians to post Scripture verses in times like these. I certainly thought so back when I was an atheist – what comfort can mere words provide to a broken heart?
These days, though, my perspective is, of course, a little different.
So here are a couple of verses which I hope will help put things into perspective and provide a little relief:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
— 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, English Standard Version
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
— Revelation 21:4, English Standard Version
2 Comments
I am humbled by you, Didact. Thank you. My family is very stubborn; we are very reluctant to express love and support for each other, even though it was always there. My father and I had recently resolved a lot of issues and we were ready to finally start enjoying each other. Lesson learned: we work on God's time, not our own. Tell your family you love them. There's never a wrong time to do so.
I understand what you mean about the need for family members to tell each other how much they care. I come from a similar family to yours in many ways; we also have that same problem. And I just lost my uncle a couple of days back – I used to be close to him when I was young, but in more recent years we drifted apart for reasons related to bad family politics. In the end, he died from the cancer that was eating him away from the inside, and he simply didn't want to suffer anymore. I respect that choice. He went out on his own terms, the way that he chose.