When reading Luke’s record of Jesus raising the widow’s son from the dead at Nain, two things stuck out to me. The first was Jesus’ compassion towards the widow, he tells her not to cry. I’m sure this woman had plenty of reasons to cry—her husband was dead and her only son had died. In those days, a woman without any male relative to support her was basically destitute, destined to beg on the streets or possibly given over to prostitution. This woman’s tears moved Jesus to compassion—He could’ve healed the son without saying anything but he spoke kind words.
The second thing that stuck out me was that Jesus turned a funeral into a celebration. What a turn-around of emotion—from deep sadness to overwhelming joy! The son was restored to life and the mother is able to survive another day. When Jesus would bring people back from the dead, they were not the only one who benefitted, but the people who loved them were blessed as well.
“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness” (Psalm 30:11). Jesus made this verse a reality for the widow.
Samantha Page
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1 comment:
Thank you! Jesus often turns moments of struggle and grief into times of celebration, but we miss them. We seem to take steps one and two but forget number three. We pray and trust but forget the celebration of God's working.
Is it really faith if we pray and trust but do not praise Him?
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