Hebrews 42:10-18
When the Light Dims
Every year brings its joys and losses, and our losses this year have been especially painful. We have said goodbye to friends and family members. Some had lived a reasonable allotment of time on earth; others had not. Grief has its universal aspects but it is also an individual, private suffering.
Many of our wisest men and women have grappled with the question of grief and how to reconcile suffering with God’s goodness. They had no definitive answers and neither do we. We do know that suffering is and was ever-present.
The verses from Hebrews show us clearly that early believers underwent severe punishment and even death in retribution for their acceptance of Jesus Christ, a circumstance in which they may very well have expected God would protect them. Remarkably, they persevered.
If they had not, where would we be today? Their steadfastness meant that the word of God remained alive in the world. That was their legacy to us and we honor their commitment and sacrifice by remembering that God’s light is never extinguished, even during dark times.
-Jane & Jerry Ford