Up in Flames!
Yesterday morning I received the shocking word that in the
middle of the night, my parent’s house, which we had sold less than a month
ago, (i.e. the house I grew up in), had been burned to the ground. One of my sisters had been on the Internet
looking at the local news when she came across the story and pictures of the
house up in flames. The headline read, “Suspicious Fire Destroys Airmont
Home.” Thankfully, no one was killed or
injured (the house was yet empty). And,
the fire was kept from spreading to the neighbor’s home, which did experience
some damage.
We had sold the house at the end of January, so it did not
belong to us. Yet, seeing the photos and later on the video of the house in
flames was quite a shock to my system.
Later on, I went by the house and experienced firsthand the
destruction—just a pile of rubble was now left.
It was hard enough to have sold the house, which we knew was quite
necessary, but to see the house in which I grew up destroyed in this way felt like
another point of loss. I think I would
been ok if the new owners had one day decided to tear down it down in order to
build a new home on the property. But to see it go up in flames was shocking
and terribly saddening. It felt like a
whole piece of my life and of my family’s life, had been burned to the
ground.
Job
of the Old Testament was a man who knew what it was like to lose everything he
had. In a very short span of time he
lost all his wealth, his children, and even his health. His life had been
reduced to a pile of rubble. It was as
if his whole life had gone up in flames!
In his grief and his searching for answers, the Bible says, Job “fell to the ground in worship” and
cried out, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and
naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of
the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:21 –
NIV)
This past year, my family and I have experienced quite a
bit of loss in our lives, beginning with the passing of my father last May. Seeing our childhood home go up in flames
felt like one more jab in the gut.
Although, it’s hard to understand all of these things, I know the best
thing I can do is respond as Job did: (1) Understanding that all of life is
temporary; (2) Recognizing the sovereignty of God over my life; (3) Giving
praise to God no matter what I may gain or lose.
So although it is hard, today I choose to say, “May the name of the Lord be praised!”
Have a great day!
Pastor Tim Harris
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