A Glossary for Grief 永是天父
Dexu Xia
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46
When Hugh and DeeDee released their only child to heaven, they struggled with what to call themselves in the aftermath. There's no specific word in the English language to describe a parent who has lost a child. A wife without her husband is a widow. A husband without his wife is a widower. A child bereft of parents is an orphan. A parent whose child has died is an undefined hollow of hurt. Miscarriage. Sudden infant death. Suicide. Illness. Accident. Death steals a child from this world and then robs the surviving parents of an expressed identity. Yet God Himself understands such devastating grief as His only Son, Jesus, called to Him while dying on the cross, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). God was Father before Jesus’ earthly birth and remained Father when Jesus released His final breath. God continued as Father when the still body of His Son was laid in a tomb. God lives on today as Father of a risen Son who brings every parent the hope that a child can live again.
What do you call a heavenly Father who sacrifices His Son for the universe? For you and for me? Father. Still, Father. When there are no words in the glossary of grief to describe the pain of loss, God is our Father and calls us His children (1 John 3:1).
How does it shape your heart to realize that God remains your Father and calls you His child—always? How might this thought comfort you?
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for being my Father and claiming me as Your child.
耶稣大声喊着说：“父啊！我将我的灵魂交在祢手里。”—路加福音23章46节
当修奇和明丽忍痛让他们唯一的孩子回天家后，就碰上此后不知如何自称的难题，因为没有一个专用词语可用来称呼失去儿女的父母。例如，妻子失去丈夫，称为寡妇；丈夫失去妻子，称为鳏夫；没有父母的孩子，称为孤儿。但失去儿女的父母，却没有一个称呼可以定义这种锥心之痛。
因着母亲流产、婴儿猝死、自杀、疾病或各种意外事件，死亡把孩子从这世上偷走了，让许多人失去做父母的身份。
上帝深知失去儿女的悲痛。祂的独生儿子耶稣被钉在十字架上，断气之前向祂大声呼喊：“父啊！我将我的灵魂交在祢手里”（路加福音23章46节）。耶稣降生为人之前，上帝就是父。耶稣断气时，祂也仍是父。当祂爱子的遗体被放入坟墓时，祂仍旧是父。直到今日，永活的上帝依然是那位复活爱子的父，这让每个父母都大有盼望，有朝一日他们的孩子也将复活！
你如何称呼那位为了全宇宙、为了你我，而牺牲自己爱子的天父？依然是天父啊！就算没有一个专用词能形容失去子女的伤痛，上帝仍旧是我们的天父，祂也称我们为祂的儿女（约翰一书3章1节）。
当你明白上帝永是你的天父，你也永是祂的儿女，
这将如何改变你的心怀意念？如何使你得安慰呢？
亲爱的天父，感谢祢成为我在天上的父亲，并且将我称为祢的儿女。