Have you ever lost some one that you loved a great deal? Do you know the understanding of grief? The kind of grief that can only be experienced by the loss or separation of a loved one.

Butcher That pain cuts to the bone. It is a pain that teaches lessons of the heart. When we wrestle with the pain of loss, then we taste the cross.

As Holy season comes upon us, I would ask you to reflect on this truth. “God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son to save all who would believe.”

Through one “Jesus,” we each have been given the right to be heirs in the kingdom of God. Death and sin no longer have claim over us. The death that Christ suffered. He suffered once that we might be spared. Because of Jesus our pain and suffering is limited to the moment.

God has given us the greatest of all gifts, eternal life. This holy season, take heart. God through Jesus has taken our pain. God has given us hope. God has taken away the pain of death and has given the grave a great and mighty resurrection power. Praise God! Let our hearts receive joy! In Christ there is new life. In Jesus we are saved.

Do not let your heart be troubled. Do not forget to attend the church of your choice on Sunday. You are needed.

Dan Butcher is the pastor of the Crossroads Community

Church in Bringhurst.