FIND BY LOSING, A GREAT PARADOX


"He that finds his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life 
for my sake shall find it." (Matthew 10:39)


One of the not so pleasing responsibilities of the local church pastor is to officiate funeral services. As a result of being in ministry literally a third of my living years I have been apart of my fair share of funerals. I have officiated all different types of funerals ranging from a six week old baby, a homeless men, ex-gang members, and just the average Joes. One thing that I have never been able to comprehend is the reality of how I respond to the loss of a loved one or a close friend. Death, sadly enough has been a constant invader throughout my life. Whether it was my five friends, grandfather, uncle, or a mentor death has always done its toil on me. Each time my life is interrupted by the un-welcomed intruder, a constant thought causes mind to spin into a cloud of confusion. If we truly love someone we want the absolute best for them. In all the reality, the greatest thing that anyone could ever receive is the opportunity to be in the presence of the Creator for eternity, yet when I loved one departs from the homeland and finds salvation we become confused or even angry. Im not nieve to the fact that most of our feelings are birthed as a result of the pain of losing a loved one, but if our faith is we say it is, The question, “why do we pray for someone to be healed in the physical, when in all reality the best thing to ever happen with them would be for them to die and be with Jesus if they are a follower of Jesus Christ.

I remember as if it was yesterday, my cell phone rang. On the other end was Auntie. Her voice trembled as she said, “Chadman, we lost Uncle Shirley. Uncle Shirley was my great Uncle who had recently undergone hip replacement surgery. My Auntie went on to say, “Chad, I had my hand on his forehead and I prayed God, don’t let him hurt, give him peace.” She went on to say, “Then that was it, he died.” My Auntie was in total shock as a result of God instantly answering her prayers. What a living paradox it was that My Aunt, prayed a prayer for my Uncle to be in peace and when God answered her prayer we were shocked.