In Loving Memory of Mrs. Sample

Monday night I received some pretty shocking news about someone I barely knew but who has had a big impact on many here in Little Rock. Her name was, Mrs. Mary Henderson Sample. She passed away at the age of 49, just this Sunday, September 5th while painting a room in the church she attended.

This comes as a blow to many of us, because within the home school community, Mary was an anchor point. She and her husband led Home Ed, the homeschool group of greater Little Rock. She was a founder and director of the Homeschool Academy, serving hundreds of homeschool students in the greater Little Rock area. And in my short time here I have already benefitted from her ministry to families.

Death is never easy to swallow but it is much easier to take when it’s expected, when a person is well advanced in years or when a person is battling a known illness or disease. When a person passes away while still in the middle of life, in relative health, and in the safety of a church building, we scramble for answers and are left reeling. Why now? Why so soon? Why her? It doesn’t seem right.

It’s been said that “there is an easy solution to every problem and it’s the wrong one.” So I’m not going to try and talk ‘Christianeeze’ and regurgitate some textbook answer for you. But I do want to remind us that there are some things that we can affirm about the person and character of God in any situation, including this one.

1) We can affirm the goodness of God
A truth affirmed throughout Scripture is the goodness of God. There is no getting around it.

Psalm 25:8 “Good and upright is the LORD”
Psalm 119:68 “You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes.”
Psalm 145 :9 “The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works”

This is a bedrock for the Christian. We may not understand all of God’s dealings with men but we cannot doubt His character, which manifests itself in all of His works. He is good and He does good.

2) We can affirm the sovereignty and providence of God
“Sovereignty” speaks of God’s authority over all things and “providence” refers to the actual outworking of that authority in controlling all the details of life. This is another anchor of the soul.

Psalm 103:19”The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.”
Psalm 115:3 “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”
Psalm 135:6 “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.”

Sometimes people think that it is much better to leave God out of tragedy, as if it would make us feel better to know that God wasn’t involved at all. But how does that make things better? If there is not an all-wise God who knows what I can handle, a God who can measure out the right dose of difficulty, then we are left utterly hopeless. We are at the mercy of blind chance and fortune. Pain is pointless and has no meaning. Even God is surprised at our calamity! How much better to know that God has a plan and a purpose in everything and is guiding and controlling all events.

This does not promote some fatalistic view of life but rather lets us know that God is at work in all things for a good purpose. Romans 8:28 works because God is at work “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” God is in absolute control.

3) We can also affirm the Wisdom of God
God is good, and He is in control, but what about the timing and the circumstances and all the particulars that are involved? We can use a reminder of God’s wisdom can’t we?

Daniel 2:20 "Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him.”
Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”
Revelation 7:12 saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

God’s wisdom is perfect because he knows all the contingencies and all the details not only presently but infinitely into the future as well. God is the one who is “Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'” (Isaiah 46:10). We can trust a God like this. And then finally …

4) We can affirm the compassion and comfort of God
We don’t come to a God who stands aloof, unattached, untouched, indifferent to our needs and feelings. God is a God of great compassion.

Psalm 25:6 “Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old.”.

I find it interesting that when God revealed his glory to Moses he began in this way,

Exodus 34:6 "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.”

God’s glory is manifested in his compassion! And the compassion of God is most clearly revealed to us in the person of Christ. Over and over again in the gospel accounts we find the statement that our Lord Jesus Christ “felt compassion” or was “moved with compassion” and in Luke 7:13 we see it used in direct connection with the grief over a lost loved one. Don’t ever think that God is not touched by what you experience as His child. He hears our cries and is described as “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3).

These are firm, rock solid, unchangeable affirmations that we can make about God regardless of the circumstances and this list is only the beginning. As we remember Mrs. Sample’s life we can also be encouraged by the unshakable character of the Great God she trusted in.

In loving memory of Mrs. Mary Henderson Sample, 49, of Little Rock, AR. We give thanks to God for her faith in Christ, her love for all the saints and her hope in heaven (Colossians 1:3-5).

In Christ Alone,
George Lawson