I rec'd. this quote from my mother shortly after my wife passed away. My Mom never cited where it came from . . . sorry.
"When there is a fatal accident, death, whatever; that is not an act of God, neither is it God's will. It is in fact the precise opposite. It is against the will of God, and God is just as grieved about it as we are.
No one can calculate the vast amount of damage that has been done by suggesting that terrible and tragic events in life are the will of God. When Jesus was on earth, He healed the sick; He raised Lazarus; He raised Jairus' daughter and the son of the widow of Nain; He cleansed lepers and healed paralytics. John 21: 25 says "And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen."
Clearly, Jesus did not think sickness, illness and untimely death were the will of God. They were the very things He came to help and overcome.
What, then, can we say at a time like this? We can say God is as grieved as we are. That He is sharing in our grief and sorrows. We can say God has it in His power to make it up to those who are taken; to those to whom sorrow and suffering have come. God offers power to face triumphantly these things; to bear them; to come through them, and even to transform them so that tragedy becomes a crown."
. . . This was Sunshine's philosophy also. She never blamed God for the cancer in her body. She realized it was because we live in a fallen, sinful world. Sunshine trusted in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour; that through faith she would be healed, either her on earth or with Him in our heavenly home. She knew that it is '. . . by grace she was saved through faith, and that not of herself; it is the gift of God.'
And now may "The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you His peace." Amen.
"When there is a fatal accident, death, whatever; that is not an act of God, neither is it God's will. It is in fact the precise opposite. It is against the will of God, and God is just as grieved about it as we are.
No one can calculate the vast amount of damage that has been done by suggesting that terrible and tragic events in life are the will of God. When Jesus was on earth, He healed the sick; He raised Lazarus; He raised Jairus' daughter and the son of the widow of Nain; He cleansed lepers and healed paralytics. John 21: 25 says "And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen."
Clearly, Jesus did not think sickness, illness and untimely death were the will of God. They were the very things He came to help and overcome.
What, then, can we say at a time like this? We can say God is as grieved as we are. That He is sharing in our grief and sorrows. We can say God has it in His power to make it up to those who are taken; to those to whom sorrow and suffering have come. God offers power to face triumphantly these things; to bear them; to come through them, and even to transform them so that tragedy becomes a crown."
. . . This was Sunshine's philosophy also. She never blamed God for the cancer in her body. She realized it was because we live in a fallen, sinful world. Sunshine trusted in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Saviour; that through faith she would be healed, either her on earth or with Him in our heavenly home. She knew that it is '. . . by grace she was saved through faith, and that not of herself; it is the gift of God.'
And now may "The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you His peace." Amen.
