[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 10/Mar/2019]
Today, as I write the first draft of these thoughts, our puppy has died. She was four months old but had been with us for only 10 days when she died from an allergic reaction to a vaccination that was intended to safeguard her health. Despite her short stay with us she made an impression even amongst a society that generally values animals primarily for their working potential. She shared her kennel with our cats, who seemed to understand her suffering.
At times of loss it is common to turn to the story of Job. We lost one animal, Job lost 11,000 – his livestock was his livelihood. Yet he could say “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1: v21). But in both cases there remains the supplementary question – “Why?”
In the Romanian Orthodox tradition, there is a recognition of an almighty God whose purposes are often beyond our comprehension. There is very little teaching about Jesus as saviour and friend. Rather, the Church places a great deal of importance on those whom it designates as ‘saints’, using their life stories as examples of how we should live our lives. We may not understand what God is up to but we can call upon numerous friends who are there to help us.
For those of us who are saints in the western Baptist interpretation our understanding is different. Jesus is man’s ‘bestest friend ever’. Consider the words of James G Small:
I’ve found a Friend, oh, such a Friend! He bled, He died to save me;
And not alone the gift of life, but His own self He gave me.
Naught that I have my own I call; I hold it for the Giver;
My heart, my strength, my life, my all, are His, and His forever.
For us the critical question is not ‘why’ but ‘who’. Who is your best friend?
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
