lousy comforters
I’m often tongue-tied when I attend a funeral or visit someone in the hospital. As soon as I open my mouth, it concerns me that I’m sounding like one of Job’s friends. They were better comforters when they kept their mouths shut rather than when they opened them (Job 2:11-13). Their advice and consolation to Job sounded like the exact words I might have spoken. They argued forcefully and their arguments seemed so pious, leading Philip Yancey to comment: “If today we had only Job 3–37, we would judge the three friends as the true heroes of the book.” But God was angry with them (Job 42:7).
another advocate
When I was asked to say a few words at the farewell dinner for a friend who was emigrating, I Googled for some help. Here’s a sampling of what I found: “Every goodbye makes the next hello closer.” “It is the end of something simple and the beginning of everything else.” That last quote got me thinking about what Jesus…
