This devotional first appeared in https://www.islandsadventist.org
Scripture: While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.” 50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”
Luke 8:49-50 (NKJV)
Observation: Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, pushed through the crowd waiting for Jesus’ return from the other side of the lake. He came to see Jesus and to ask Hi, beg Him, to come to his house because his daughter was ill, in fact, dying. While he was asking Jesus, someone from his home came to tell him his daughter was dead. What would be the point of troubling Jesus now. Instead, Jesus said to Him, “Don’t be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well” (vs.50). Jairus must have had every fiber of his body focused on believing the unbelievable, fighting every possible doubt that crept into his mind. . . the life of his only child depended on him not accepting death but receiving the gift of life from the Life-giver.
Application: I have always heard that the most painful death is the death of a child. We all sort-of expect that our parents, maybe even our siblings, will more than likely die before we do. It isn’t a pleasant, comforting thought to know we will probably have to attend many a funeral of loved ones. But none of us expect our children, or grandchildren, to die before we do. Ellen White had that experience twice, and from experience she speaks of the death of her fourth child, three-month-old John Herbert: “After we returned from the funeral, my home seemed lonely. I felt reconciled to the will of God, yet despondency and gloom settled upon me.–1 Testimonies to the Church, p. 246.
Jairus was blessed to receive his daughter back from the grip of death. The widow of Nain also received her son back from the dead. Every other parent has to wait until the morning of the resurrection to receive their children back. Ellen White describes that awesome moment when, “Little children are borne by holy angels to their mothers’ arms. {Child Guidance, p. 566}. There’s probably nothing that can make the parents’ grief any easier to bear, but the hope of the resurrection and being reunited with their children gives parents something specially joyous to look forward to.
A Prayer You May Say: Father, may we as parents never have to experience the pain and sorrow that comes from losing a child. But if that time were to come, remind us of the family reunion which will take place when Jesus return so we can look forward to that glorious event with even greater anticipation.
Used by permission of Adventist Family Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
