I don’t take for granted the fact that we are able to celebrate so many professions of faith and baptisms again this year. Many churches are declining. Thankfully, Hope Fellowship continues to grow. We praise God for the seven testimonies that were shared last Sunday and the testimonies and baptisms still to come today and on June 21.
Against the backdrop of these three exciting Stand Up Sundays, I find myself rattled by the recent losses sustained by some of our families. In the past few months I have led or attended seven funerals. Two of them involved the deaths of two young moms, Amanda, 31, and Lesley-Ann, 42. Amanda died after a gruelling battle with cancer; Lesley-Ann died unexpectedly and instantly from a brain aneurism. Then I learned that Yvonne’s cousin and Jackie’s nephew died suddenly of a heart attack last week at age 49.
So there is much to celebrate these days, but also much to lament. Rejoicing and grieving are simultaneous realities in our church right now, and a lot of sensitivity is required from all of us. Acknowledging and managing such opposite emotional extremes is difficult, but necessary. Actually, gladness and sadness are constant companions in our world. Rick Warren, the author of The Purpose Driven Life, compared life to railroad tracks with one rail representing the painful and difficult things in life and the other representing the good and happy things in life. Sometimes the one rail gets more attention than the other, but both rails always run parallel to each other.
Today, as we hear more powerful testimonies and witness some exciting baptisms, I feel the need to remind us that there are some in our fellowship whose weight, right now, is heavier on the sad rail. As we rejoice with those who rejoice, let’s not forget to also mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15).
Let’s especially remember the one and only thing that can keep us moving forward on both rails: our resurrection faith in Christ which encourages us in life and comforts us in grief.
- Pastor Peter
Against the backdrop of these three exciting Stand Up Sundays, I find myself rattled by the recent losses sustained by some of our families. In the past few months I have led or attended seven funerals. Two of them involved the deaths of two young moms, Amanda, 31, and Lesley-Ann, 42. Amanda died after a gruelling battle with cancer; Lesley-Ann died unexpectedly and instantly from a brain aneurism. Then I learned that Yvonne’s cousin and Jackie’s nephew died suddenly of a heart attack last week at age 49.
So there is much to celebrate these days, but also much to lament. Rejoicing and grieving are simultaneous realities in our church right now, and a lot of sensitivity is required from all of us. Acknowledging and managing such opposite emotional extremes is difficult, but necessary. Actually, gladness and sadness are constant companions in our world. Rick Warren, the author of The Purpose Driven Life, compared life to railroad tracks with one rail representing the painful and difficult things in life and the other representing the good and happy things in life. Sometimes the one rail gets more attention than the other, but both rails always run parallel to each other.
Today, as we hear more powerful testimonies and witness some exciting baptisms, I feel the need to remind us that there are some in our fellowship whose weight, right now, is heavier on the sad rail. As we rejoice with those who rejoice, let’s not forget to also mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15).
Let’s especially remember the one and only thing that can keep us moving forward on both rails: our resurrection faith in Christ which encourages us in life and comforts us in grief.
- Pastor Peter
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