LIFE IS A VAPOR (ARTICLE) by Abidan Paul Shah
Monday afternoon two weeks ago I got a phone call that I have received before as a pastor but I never imagined whom it would be about. “Sylvia Edwards died.” I thought I had misheard the name and so I asked – “Who did you say again?” I heard it right the first time. It was Sylvia. I couldn’t believe it…I saw her the night before at church! We talked about her singing at the coming Fourth of July program. She wasn’t feeling well but she was still excited about picking out the songs and getting started with the practices. If you knew Sylvia, you would know that she loved to sing and she wasn’t one to sit still very long! Now, two days later we were standing by her graveside – “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…”
The Blessing of Sorrow
In our series on the Sermon on the Mount we come now to the second beatitude -“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” This is probably one of the most needed messages today. It’s about grief and sorrow, something all of us face in this life.
Where does sorrow come from? It comes from loss.Throughout life we have losses, some big and some small. In fact, life is a series of losses. The real question is “What do we do with our losses?” If we handle them God’s way, the result is comfort. If we look for superficial ways, it will not work. God has the right answer to our sorrow. By the way, I love Luke’s rendition of this beatitude – “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.”