Unthinkable

My cousin's son's death in January... a couple who lost their son in the war... the death of high school students in the tornado in Alabama... the bus crash that killed the members of a college baseball team this morning. I sit with tears in my eyes as I recoil in horror at the thought of losing a child. No matter the reason or cause of death, the pain is unimaginable and unthinkable.

A ministry friend and I were talking with a man in our community who lost a son in an automobile accident twenty years ago. His voice still catches and his eyes still get moist when he speaks about his boy. "No one can know what it's like," he whispered to us.

My friend replied, "The Father knows."

The Father knows. He lost a Son. Not in an accident or on a desert battleground, but purposefully on a cross. The One died for the many because His rebellious creation had sinned themselves into a corner they could not escape without bloodshed.

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NASB)

We have a great circle of friends. Some of them have walked with us through some very tough times, and we love them like brothers and sisters. But if we were told that one of our sons would have to die so that all of our friends could live... I'm sorry, but we couldn't make such a sacrifice.

And yet, that is what the Father did, And He did it for enemies, not friends. God was willing to bear the searing pain of loss so that His enemies might live.

Amazing love, how can it be, that You my King would die for me?