“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him.” (Philippians 3:8-9a NLT)
Another delusion with which we sometimes wrestle is believing we can experience the love of Christ without suffering loss. Think of all the Lord gave up becoming wrapped in human flesh and leaving His home in heaven. Jesus’ life is a testament of loss, up to and including His physical life on a cross. Loss is a part of life whether we’re a believer or not, but it gives us avenues to reveal the presence of our Savior when we suffer loss as His servant.
That doesn’t mean we won’t feel pain, but even during severe pain we can still magnify the love of our Savior as He comforts and heals us. Loss comes in different sizes and shapes but can be used by the Lord to wean us away from the things of the world and hold us more closely to Himself. My sense is we suffer more when we lose the things to which we’re most closely tied, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
As a Pastor I conducted many funeral services and it seemed to me the greater the love a person had for someone, the greater their suffering. There’s a sense in which our suffering is like our “badge of honor;” it’s the privilege we have to feel deeply the pain of our love now lost. As a believer our separation is temporary, but often no less painful.
Death is just one of many ways we suffer loss. Loss of health, a job or position, a home or something material that we loved, a relationship, a pet, an opportunity, the list is virtually endless. And to think becoming a Jesus follower shields us from those things is to misunderstand why we’re following Him. On some levels the Lord allows loss for the very purpose of enabling us to see Him more clearly.
When we allow something to come between us and the Lord; when our attention and devotion that rightfully belongs to the Lord is misguided or misdirected, He sometimes will allow things to be taken away, not to hurt us, but to help us, not to push us away, but to draw us to Him more closely.
Suffering loss is part of being a human being, so we believe wrongly when we think coming to the Lord will eliminate loss from happening in our life. Life on planet earth is temporary and even as it begins, we start the inevitable string of losses: from the security of our mother’s womb, from childhood, from being a teen, young adult, and on and on it goes until we fight our final battle with death on planet earth.
One advantage of knowing the Lord is we never face any loss without His presence with us – guiding, guarding, protecting, comforting, assuring us that we’re never alone, especially as we pass from death on earth to life in heaven, never to die again. The future, in terms of the steps between now and then, are often a mystery, but when the Lord Jesus becomes our Savior, Master, and Lord, the mysteries are shrouded in the shadow of His holiness and love.
While many would like to know what the future holds, step by step, I’m content to know I’m not alone as I face the uncertainties of having dementia. All I need to know is Who is holding my hand, leading me into the future He has prepared for me. I’m not afraid, actually, I’m excited to experience what He has for me, not only in heaven, but in the months or years I have left on this earth, as He reveals His glory in ever increasing measure in and through my life. “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.” (Philippians 1:21)
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 