Dear Family and Friends,

Have you ever sensed that grieving the loss of a child is more profound than grieving the loss of others?

The loss of any loved one is hard but the death of a child always breaks hearts.

It’s been a tough month for many of us. The young ones lost on New Year’s Eve, the North Shore, Washington DC, and now Philadelphia hurt – – a lot.

The airline accidents helped me realize why. We’re not only mourning the loss of life, we’re also mourning dreams that will never come true.

Let’s remember that as Christians, it’s okay to mourn.

“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13 NIV

Paul is not telling us – do not mourn. He’s telling us to do so with hope.

So, how do we mourn with hope?

We live not for this life but the next. Our dreams for the future extend beyond this life.

Perhaps we should be dreaming the same for our young ones.

How often do we dream of them growing up to become this or that…

Perhaps the pain would be lessened if our dreams for our young ones extended beyond this life to an eternal future with Jesus.

This thought started with the following verse found in Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith chapter.

“There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.”  Hebrews 11:35 NIV

This is a verse that many gloss over and never stop to ask, “Who are they talking about? I don’t recall a story like this in the Old Testament.”

Many commentators say the writer of Hebrews was referring to the story of a mother and her seven sons found in 2 Maccabees 7.

The books of the Maccabees, written in the years between the Old and New Testaments, outline the history of the Maccabees, who led the Jewish rebellion against the Seleucid Dynasty from 175 BC to 134 BC.

The Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanes, was a brutal tyrant. He would bring prominent families into a public square and call on them to disobey God, eat unclean meat, reject the law of God, and show loyalty to him.

“On another occasion a Jewish mother and her seven sons were arrested. The king was having them beaten to force them to eat pork.” 2 Maccabees 7:1 GNT

The mother was made to watch as each of her sons was tortured. The first had his tongue cut off, scalped, feet and hands chopped off. He was then roasted in a scalding pan in front of his mother and brothers.

The soldiers then did the same to the second brother, who in his dying breath said, “You butcher! You may kill us, but the King of the universe will raise us from the dead and give us eternal life, because we have obeyed his laws.” 2 Maccabees 7:8 GNT

When it was time for the third brother to be tortured, he stuck out his tongue and held out his hands, saying, “God gave these to me. But his laws mean more to me than my hands, and I know God will give them back to me again.”

The next three brothers died in the same way.

The youngest son also refused the king saying in part, “King Antiochus, what are you waiting for? I refuse to obey your orders. I only obey the commands in the Law which Moses gave to our ancestors.

My brothers suffered briefly because of our faithfulness to God’s covenant, but now they have entered eternal life. I now give up my body and my life for the laws of our ancestors, just as my brothers did.” (From 2 Maccabees 7:30-37 GNT)

The boy was then tortured more cruelly than his brothers.

“The mother was the most amazing one of them all, and she deserves a special place in our memory.

Although she saw her seven sons die in a single day, she endured it with great courage because she trusted in the Lord. She combined womanly emotion with manly courage and spoke words of encouragement to each of her sons in their native language.

I do not know how your life began in my womb, she would say, I was not the one who gave you life and breath and put together each part of your body. It was God who did it, God who created the universe, the human race, and all that exists.

He is merciful and he will give you back life and breath again, because you love his laws more than you love yourself.

Last of all, the mother was put to death.” 2 Maccabees 7:20-23,41 GNT

The faith of this mother is indeed inspiring. Although her name was never mentioned, she belongs alongside all the others named in Hebrews 11.

We must also acknowledge the faith of her sons. She taught them well. It’s clear she impressed God’s commandments on her sons, as directed in Deuteronomy 6.

Let me close with this thought for your consideration.

The Disney theme parks use the slogan “Where dreams come true.”

Let’s be inspired to teach our young ones and instill in them an equally unshakeable faith in Jesus.

So, if the unspeakable ever happened to our loved ones, we would mourn with hope, absolutely confident that our new dreams for them came true.

In love always,