Unlikely Comfort

Saturday morning I got up early to run, glancing next door at church. There was a light on inside, which wasn't unexpected. There was going to be a funeral that morning and the body had come to the church the evening before, so that some family members had stayed in church overnight. 

Fifteen minutes later, as I headed out the door, I glanced at the church again and saw all the lights on, plus the side door open. "Uh oh" I thought. An open door is an invitation for Sami, our outdoors cat.  She is very social around people, taking quick notice and showing up whenever anyone is out in front of church. She has often been known to find a way into the building.  At a funeral last week I stayed near the main door during the time between the end of the service and departing for the burial. That day I was able to catch her three times as she came into the foyer.  Seeing the open door yesterday morning I knew it was too late to do anything. I would check with the family before the funeral, and hope for the best.

When it was time to be at church to get things ready I wasn't surprised to learn that yes, Sami had been inside the building overnight. What did surprise me was that not only did the family not really mind, but that two of them found her presence to be comforting.

Sami is social, and loves to be held, something these people found eased the difficulty of preparing the bury their grandfather, who had passed away just a two days earlier.  Gramps, as he was known by his family, was fond of cats and had a few of his own.  His family found it easy to have a cat show up as they spent the night together.  They called her the "church cat".  The same cat that I find to be a bit of a nuisance on Sunday morning they found to be an unexpected, and welcome, source of comfort.   

Sami, providing unlikely comfort, is like every other bit of creation in which we might find pleasure or delight. There is goodness, or beauty, or majesty, or what have you, but those things only go so far.  They are created things, and ultimately, they don’t last.  As we enjoy a pet, or a panoramic landscape, or our favorite meal, or any other thing, we experience something in the present that has the ability to set our gaze on something much greater, on something eternal. Those things we enjoy in life can point us towards the glory of God.

The funeral I preached yesterday was from 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, where in the last verse Paul writes:

"For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness", has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

Sami may have been an unlikely source of comfort for a grieving family, but "the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" is true and lasting comfort for anyone in need.  May his light shine in your heart, especially in those moments, or seasons, when a struggle in your life drives out thoughts of nearly everything else. 

Our favorite things are fine as source of comfort, but they only go so far. There is no end to the comfort found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Pictured is Sami, the outdoor cat, napping on our porch, where we kept her during the funeral.)

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.