Victorious Faith

Just after I posted yesterday's blog I opened my e-mail and found in it a reflection from missionary to Haiti, Rick Ireland.  I thought it tied in so well with the "No Fear in Death" theme that I should share it.  So here it is, slightly edited:

Every Thursday at noon, a group of Free Methodist Haitian pastors gathers in the office of the General Superintendent for a time of worship and prayer. I happened be there as they gathered this week. The mood was somber. The day before, a prominent and beloved pastor had been robbed and killed as he left his bank after withdrawing some money to replace his car. The murdered pastor's son was among those who slowly and quietly filed in. Each greeted the grieving son. Someone handed out hymnals and one of the pastors led out the singing, marking time with the snap of his fingers. The first song was slow and sad. A pastor prayed. The second song was a bit more upbeat. Another pastor prayed. And so the pattern continued. At one point, a pastor opened his Bible and began to preach. I couldn't understand all the words but the name "Job" figured prominently. More singing and praying followed. I watched in wonder as God filled that space, lifting people up in a difficult time. By the end of the meeting, even the grieving son was singing these songs of faith. As the impromptu service wound down, there was still sadness but there was also quiet resolution. These pastors did not face the future alone. They have one another, and they have a God who is bigger than their suffering, and who understands their suffering, sharing the journey.

These pastors are no strangers to suffering. They have lived through floods, political upheaval, and now earthquakes. Every one of them lost people close to them on January 12. They knew the pain of the grieving son, but they knew that the Son who saw them though the suffering of the past would be there in this as well.

Our faith doesn't exempt us from suffering. What I could see first hand is that faith gives us the resources to face the suffering that is part of life in a fallen world. We do not serve a God who is watching a show from a distance. We serve a God who took on the very flesh of man, experienced life in its joy and sorrow, in its victory and its suffering - a God who understands the pain of grieving over a much too early death. There is strength in that and I saw it in the faces of the men as they left that day.