I was flying home from a work trip, and sat by an older woman.  After stepping over her to get to my middle seat, I asked how she was doing.  She said “not very well” so I engaged her and asked what was wrong.  It turns out that she was flying in to see her daughter, who had just lost her 21 year old son in a motorcycle wreck.  She told me most of her life story, and was struck by how resigned she was, how little hope she had.  Eventually, she asked me some questions, and was amazed that I have been married for 27 years, I told her I had a good woman and wasn’t about to let go of her.  She asked about kids, and then looked at me and said “your kids are good aren’t they?”.  I thought it was a little strange, but I responded and said, “they all love Jesus” and she said something like that’s all that matters and then turned away.

When the flight ended, she wished me well, and I told her I would pray for her and her daughter Patricia.  I also wonder if I should have said more, I think I was more concerned with what the six people around me would think if I started talking about Christ than I was about her.  As I have prayed for her since, I have struggled to think about how we as Christ followers should handle the adversity that life brings.  There are so many verses warning us to expect persecution as we stand for our faith, but I honestly don’t think many of us have to worry about persecution.  That would require boldly speaking the Word in a hostile environment, not a situation many of us will find ourselves (another topic altogether).  So what about the pain and suffering of life?  How do we as Christ followers handle the death of a 21 boy in a motorcycle wreck?  Or a 40 year old mother of four struck down by heart failure?  Or the death of a child, a friend, a spouse?

What happens to us when we find ourselves in a position to live out what we say we believe?  We say we trust God.  We say that God loves us and has a plan for us.  We believe that all things come together for good.  But do we really?  When we are face to face with death, deep sorrow, and tragic loss, do we walk with a peace that passes understanding?  Do we set our hope on Christ?  Do others look at us and wonder about the hope we have, even as we cry, mourn, and grieve?

A believe system is just a theory, until tested.  Being a Christ follower when life is good should not be radically different than being a Christ follower when persecuted, or sitting in the ICU wondering what next, or when you stand graveside for a friend.  When tested, our faith and hope in Christ should radiate from us, much like Moses glowed when he came down from the mountain after being near to God.  I would love to think that in my deepest pain and my greatest sorrow, all that I profess to believe, would be demonstrated to the world.

Matthew 7:24-27 talks about two men who both built a house.  One build on the rock, and one built on the sand.  For a while, both houses looked good.  No problems with them, both men lived their lives and their houses were fine.  Then the rain came down, and the wind blew.  And one house stood the storm, and one house collapsed.   Christ said if we hear His words and put them into practice, we are building our house on the rock.  But if we hear His words and do not put them into practice, we are building on sand, and we will collapse when the storm comes.  And a storm will come.