Becoming Christ-Like

A woman lies in her bed, constantly in pain, not for a day but six years.  Her movements are very limited and she has a difficult time even holding her head erect.  My daughter religiously visits her doing whatever she can to ease this woman’s daily trek of just surviving.  What words can she say to comfort this poor souls grief that she herself cannot understand?

We met a family at a comfort-for-grieving people who lost their little boy at less than one year of age.  As with most persons who go through the pain of loss, but especially for little innocent children, what words can you say to comfort their loss?

There is a story of a young man, who was very loved by the whole community, passed away.  When the news reached the ears of the king everyone wondered if he would visit the Wake and what would he say.  He was considered to be a master of speech who always knew the right words.  That evening when the king entered the viewing area a quiet reverence ensued and all watched as he approached the dead man’s mother.  What words he would say would vertebrate throughout the kingdom.  The king opened his arms and gave the mother a warm hug, turned and left the room.  His words left an impression on all there.  Words spoken via a warm embrace said volumes.

My wife’s niece, who at 35 years of age, waited for a day that approached when she would pass away due to an inoperable brain tumor.  We visited her at a rehabilitation center, and at her home various evenings.  She had a very loving husband who was at her side constantly, and two grown children who worshiped their mother.  At her funeral I mentioned how Lisa just simply stepped across a threshold and was still with us in spirit.  But what words could any of us utter to the bereaving family?  

Each of these examples signify what everyone who experiences the loss of someone close, or to those who lie in bed suffering from terminal cancer, tumors, or the impending prognosis of any number of diseases that seem to affect untold numbers of parents, children, or friends experience.  The age-old question always asked; “Why”?

The best answer is not always; “I don’t know”.  When we suffer pain, are ignored by friends, accused of untold things we aren’t guilty of, we become Christ-like!  Jesus suffered long before the Crucifixion.  See Jn. 1: 10-11.  “He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him.  He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.”

Some say Jesus suffered three hours on the cross, but they exclaim I have suffered for years.  Jesus knows exactly what we suffer because of his humanity.  When those we try to comfort, even when the words seem to fall on deaf ears due to their pain let them know they are becoming Christ-like.  Remember it is when we feel like God has forgotten us is when He is closest to us! 

Ralph B. Hathaway, Advent 2020