As I travelled along the unfamiliar country road I noticed a number of cars parked outside a farmhouse and some people entering the house as others left. I had travelled 40 miles to attend the funeral of a close relative of one of my friends, and was glad to eventually find the house in which the wake was held. After signing the book of condolences at the front door I entered the house and was met in the hallway by some members of the grieving family.
Grief
When I entered the parlour, the room in which the corpse was laid out, I moved from person to person, shaking hands with the mourners and expressing my sympathy at their loss. I noticed an elderly lady who was sitting on her own. This poor mother sat beside the coffin, looking through tearful eyes at the body of her son. Her heart was breaking. As she grasped my hand tightly she said in a trembling voice, “I am 88 years old and my son is only 58. It is a terrible thing to lose your child.” She then said something that I will never forget. Looking at her son, she said, “I would gladly change places with him.” She wished she could take his place. She would be willing to die instead of him so that he might live.
As I considered the unforgettable words of that dear broken-hearted mother I was reminded of the words of Jesus, who said, ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’.1 It was not possible for this poor grieving mother to lay down her own life in place of her son’s, so that through her death he might live. However, this is just what Jesus Christ did. He laid down His life for us, so that we might have life, even everlasting life.
Grief
When I entered the parlour, the room in which the corpse was laid out, I moved from person to person, shaking hands with the mourners and expressing my sympathy at their loss. I noticed an elderly lady who was sitting on her own. This poor mother sat beside the coffin, looking through tearful eyes at the body of her son. Her heart was breaking. As she grasped my hand tightly she said in a trembling voice, “I am 88 years old and my son is only 58. It is a terrible thing to lose your child.” She then said something that I will never forget. Looking at her son, she said, “I would gladly change places with him.” She wished she could take his place. She would be willing to die instead of him so that he might live.
As I considered the unforgettable words of that dear broken-hearted mother I was reminded of the words of Jesus, who said, ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’.1 It was not possible for this poor grieving mother to lay down her own life in place of her son’s, so that through her death he might live. However, this is just what Jesus Christ did. He laid down His life for us, so that we might have life, even everlasting life.