When an unbelieving parent dies
Twenty years ago my mother died.
She had been raised a Roman Catholic in a devout Catholic home.
In the years after my conversion, which baffled her (‘But surely your baptism washed away your sins’), I was able to speak with her about the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then she died. Whether she died trusting alone, however simply, in the Saviour, God alone knows.
'Fatherly love is the bedrock of Christian contentment'
Contentment is one of the great Christian graces. Paul tells Timothy that “godliness with contentment is great gain”. He tells the church in Philippi to be “anxious about nothing”.
Our Lord Jesus commanded His disciples not to worry about life. How could Jesus say this? How could He expect and even demand that His disciples not worry? Is this not sheer idealism? Is it not actually absurd to expect believers always to be content and never to be anxious? Clearly not. Our Saviour never engaged in idealism or mere wishful thinking. In fact, Jesus gives His disciples reasons why they should not worry. He makes the observation that worrying never accomplished anything of any significance. But more importantly, Jesus tells His disciples that their lives are cared for, watched over by and dearly loved by their heavenly Father. It is the fatherly love and care of God that is the bedrock of the Christian’s contentment.