Widows, Dead Children, and Adoption

Luke chapter 7 tells the story of Jesus raising the son of a widow in a town called Nain. This story is perhaps one of the most overlooked stories in the entire Gospel of Luke. It is a story that shows so much about our Savior. What does Jesus do hear? What is the point of Luke telling this story? The point is to tell us who Jesus is, as the crowd asks in verse 47.

Notice that Jesus gives this woman the strangest command a man could give to a grieving woman that not only had lost her son, but had lost all means of having a living. She was a widow, and in the first century, she was completely and utterly dependent on her son for survival. Her son was gone, an emotional shock unlike any other, but her entire source of food and shelter was gone as well, and this man tells her don't weep. Now, for us, this is another one of those passages that prove Jesus is either a nut or Savior, personally I tend to think it shows the character of our Savior.

Jesus takes compassion on the suffering of this woman, touches a dead man's board used for carrying the body ( an act that was scandolous because this would have made him unclean, but its cool that Jesus doesn't care), and note how the text notes that Jesus gave her son back to her. To me, this passage does highlight how children, how anything in life, is God's to give and take away. We own nothing, and as believers, we have no rights before our Holy God. He is sovereign, we are servants; he is just, we are the justified; he is always good, and as believers, we are trying to be. If this is the case, then we must acknowledge this: everything that happens in this life, whether good or bad, has a part in the plan of God. Today, Libby and I found that we were not chosen again by a birth mom, and to be honest, I am sick of waiting. But should I not glorify God? Do I really believe that my future children are in his hands? Like the widow at Nain, we are trying to wait on God to give us our children. We are trying to be patient. Pray for us in this. I hope that you understand why I am writing this post. I am not complaining, or maybe the sinful part of me is. I am trying to say that I believe that all of us are widows, in desperate need of God. We are all widows that must trust in the Savior's hand to guide the course of our lives. When we can rejoice that our God is in control, that our God is compassionate, then we can trust that what he does is best. So, how can you trust God today? Is it waiting on children? Future college decisions? Marriage issues? Remember that whatever you are holding on to, it belongs to God first, and to you, second. Lord, help us not to weep for too long over any suffering. Help us to acknowledge that you are in control and that you are compassionate and meet our needs in your timing.