Thursday; June 6
One of the things that I have noticed about growing older is that I am exposed to a lot more death. On the surface this might seem a bit odd, but when you think about it, it’s pretty understandable. First, the older I get the older my friends and acquaintances get – and the older they get, the more apt they are to die. Another reason for a higher number of deaths around me is the fact that the older I get, the more people I know and with that comes more exposure to death. I always thought it odd that older people talked a lot about sickness and death – now I understand it why. While being around death can be a challenge to us, it doesn’t mean that we are on our own to deal with it. In fact, Jesus seems to offer us hope early in His ministry by saying, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4). While this is a nice sentiment, have you ever thought about how this will be accomplished? I think the comfort promised by Jesus comes in a couple of forms.