Today We Grieve | Counting the Cost

Today we grieve with some of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Two families have lost loved ones on the Thai mission field this week.  Two car accidents, three lives claimed.  We do not personally know these families, but our hearts are close as we have been called to minister to the same nation.  

One family lost two children in a car accident.  The other family was hosting the wife's parents, and a separate car accident claimed the life of the wife's mother.  

We cannot begin to comprehend the depth of their grief, but we are in awe of their strength.  This is a link to the most recent prayer letter of the family who lost two children... it is powerful to read.  


Please lift these families up in prayer in order that we may bear some of the burden of their grief (Galatians 6:2).  


I am not as strong as they are.  After two days in a row of hearing stories of missionaries who have lost loved ones, I asked Phil if this was worth it.  I find myself counting the cost and, sometimes, not sure if I am willing to give it all.  It can be so easy to say, "Yes, Lord!  I surrender all to you!  Take my life!"  But when life gets tough, when you watch people giving everything, and it hurts, sometimes you question.  

As Phil and I were praying for these families today, the Lord gave me a new perspective on sacrifice in my earthly life.  The Lord showed me again why the Gospel is worth my all.  

The message of salvation in Christ is worth everything I have to offer and more, because an earthly life in exchange for an eternal life is like ashes for a crown of beauty (Isaiah 61:3).  It is an unfair trade is the most glorious way.  I have been given life and salvation freely, and I choose to give my life back to the Lord to be used in whatever way brings the most glory to His name.  Amen.  

In Psalm 39, David says, 

“Show me, Lord, my life’s end

    and the number of my days;
    let me know how fleeting my life is.  You have made my days a mere handbreadth;    the span of my years is as nothing before you.Everyone is but a breath,    even those who seem secure."

Death seems to put life into perspective.  Let's live with the realization of how fragile life is, and let that knowledge change how we spend the precious days we are given.