The First Baptist Church of Redlands
TA PE S T RY Woven Together In Love: Colossians 2:2
JUNE 2015
ISSUE No. 6
Finding healing in the darkest hour R
ecently, I came across an article about the sinking of the Titanic. It was April 10, 1912 when the RMS Titanic set sail from Hampton, England to New York for her maiden voyage. The Titanic was the greatest ocean liner of her day, massive, elegant and powerful. She was called "the unsinkable ship." However, that title proved tragically untrue. Within five days at sea, the mighty ship lay broken and destroyed at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The Titanic crew was repeatedly warned of iceberg sightings in her path but the radio operator dismissed the warning with angry retorts. Even the captain's attitude was "full speed ahead." After all, the Titanic was unsinkable. Then, to make matters worse, the lifeboats were woefully insufficient to accommodate all of the passengers. As a result, 1,517 people perished at sea. Information about the Titanic has always had a special fascination for me because the couple who built the house in which I grew up, perished along with the other passengers. In reading the recent article about the Titanic, the writer drew a parallel between the passengers on the Titanic and the lives of many people today. Although I disagree with the parallel he drew, I thought of another parallel. Certainly not as dramatic as the Titanic story but often shattering and life changing.
I thought of those times in people's lives when everything seems to be going wonderfully, where people are enjoying life much like the passengers on the Titanic. Then something life changing happens. Unfortunately, for some, the burden is so great, they figuratively drown in sorrow, defeat, depression or addiction. Yet for others, in a time of tragedy, they are able to rise above the circumstances and go on to new heights in their walk with God and service to others. Thinking about that, three supports come to mind that can bring hope and inner peace to hurting lives and eventually healing: loving friends, a loving church family and the love of God. The book of Proverbs describes a loving friend as “one that sticketh closer than a brother.” What a treasure such a friend is because no matter what one is going through, that friend is always there. A song writer declared, ”I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God. Those of us who are part of a church family can say “amen” to that. High on the list of blessings is the support of loving members who are willing to listen, pray with you or just put an arm around you to let you know you are not alone. There is nothing more comforting than that. Then, there is the love of God. That is the ultimate of support and healing. Jesus healed on three levels: the physical, the psychological and the spiritual. The physical: He
“Without love, Paul told us, we are nothing. In loving God, ourselves, and others without reserve, we continue the healing that was conceived in Nazareth, brought to birth in Bethlehem, and consummated on Calvary’s cross.” -Walter J. Burghardt commanded the paralytic to take up his bed and walk. The psychological: He restored dignity to the adulteress. The spiritual: Above all other healing he did, he brought God’s love to the world. When he died, his love redeemed us and it is that same unconditional love that brings healing to us, even in the darkest hour of our lives and gives us a sense of wholeness again.
Richard