A tremendous tragedy

A few days ago we received news that our nephew in India died of a drug overdose. This young man married our sweet niece---a young woman deeply loved by my wife and I. God had blessed this young couple with a beautiful child. Despite his addiction, this young man simply adored my niece and showered her with love and affection.

Yet there was a deep darkness and depression in his soul--for which he ran to a substance instead of the Sustainer. I am no judge, having spent far too many days in my own 'dark night of the soul' because of my unwillingness to taste the sweet savor of Jesus. There has been, and is, so much sin in my life that I shudder at the thought of it. Its heinous mark stains and devours like an acid--yet Christ is the cure who cleanses and heals. Even in the fog of this tragedy the promise of Christ's healing brightly penetrates this darkness.

I see you Jesus, help me see you more clearly...

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;

Habakkuk 3:17-18a (ESV)

Experiencing his own difficulties, the author of the (non-inspired) book of Tobit writes “As for me, I exalt my God, and my spirit rejoices in the King of heaven" (13:7). Despite our sorrow, I choose to exalt my God. I choose to rejoice because my God is King of Heaven itself.

As the puritan John Dod once said, "Much sin, much sorrow; much holiness, much happiness". Praise God for the holiness of Christ, which is made available to us through his work on the cross. It is in his holiness, applied to me, that I find the happiness that alludes the world.

In tragedy we see Christ most clearly. Praise God, then, that even tragedy can be so tremendous.