Today I have some sad news. A few months ago, I mentioned that a 9-year-old boy from our church was diagnosed with an inoperable and untreatable brain tumor; his doctors gave him six weeks to live. On Wednesday morning, he died.

Our pastor had this to say (via our church's website),

This morning (Wednesday) @ 7:20 AM, Anthony took his final breath here on this earth. In the hours that have followed, the reality of his death is finally beginning to sink in for me.

As I sit here at my desk, having just left the house and wanting to post something...there are two passages of Scripture from the Bible that occupy my thinking. Both are promises from God's Word:

"Can anything," the Bible writer asks, "ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death?

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away.

Whether we are high above the sky, the Bible says, or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35, 37-39 (NLT)

Pretty cool, huh? That no matter where we are, or what we face, we cannot escape the touch and love of God. As you process Anthony's death, I can't help but ponder if you are leaning on God for strength? Are you leaning on God for comfort? Are you leaning on God for hope?

In another place the Bible says..."God loved the people of this world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who has faith in Him will have eternal life and never really die." John 3:16 (CEV)

The Bible tells me that God the Father knows what it is like to have a loved one die. God watched His Son Jesus die on the cross for your sins and mine. And it says that in the same way that He lifted up Jesus, His Son from the dead…to live with Him in heaven, so too does He lift up those who believe in Jesus.

That reality causes me to ask the questions: "Do you believe in Jesus? Have You invited Jesus to have a place in your life?"

I know that Anthony loved people. I also know that he loved Jesus. Based upon the promises of God's Word, I can hold onto the hope that Anthony, like Jesus, will live in heaven for all of eternity.

In the raw moments of this hour, I confess that I may never understand fully God’s purposes...why He allows some things to happen. In the midst of the unaswered questions, I can, however, choose to believe that God is in control and that God still loves us through all of life's experiences.

Today, I am holding on to the promises of God's Word. What about you?