Joseph Bayly, lost 3 of his 7 children to death. As a father, I cannot begin to imagine the depth associated with that loss. The very worst loss I can think of is to lose one of my dear children. There have been those in my family that have lost a son in Iraq and beautiful daughter to one of Satan’s masterpieces; a foul drug. It is beyond my ability to imagine or describe the pain.

It is true that for the believer, death holds no terror….most of the time…no pain,,,most of the time…no sadness…some of the time….but still…it hurts and no Christian cliques can completely eliminate the feelings of separation, of sorrow. That is why Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus, even though He knew what He was going to do in raising Lazarus from the dead. At the very end of the process there is peace and victory, but first we must pass through the valley of the shadow of death; all of us.

Joseph Bayly, who lost three children, said this. “I was sitting torn by grief, Someone came and talked to me of God’s dealings, of why it happened, of hope beyond the grave. He talked constantly, he said things I knew were true,

I was unmoved, except to wish he’d go away. He finally did.

Another came and sat beside me. He didn’t talk. He didn’t ask leading questions. He just sat beside me for an hour and more, listened when I said something, answered briefly, prayed simply, left.

I was moved. I was comforted. I hated to see him go”

May God bless him and increase his tribe,

Pastor Terry