Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

January 25, 2008, 10:00 am; posted by
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I once heard a preacher say that for every atheist who dies from cancer, a Christian dies too — so the world can see how a Christian faces death. That is an obvious overstatement, but the fact remains “that the rain falls on the just as well as the unjust” for just such a purpose — so the world can see what it means to place your faith in Jesus and to live for the next world, not this one.

Rick Burgess, half of the popular Rick & Bubba Show here in the South, lost his 3-year-old son William Bronner Burgess, in a tragic drowning accident this week. I have to admit I had never listened to the show, assuming that it would be funny, but laced with off-color redneck humor like Larry the Cable Guy or even Jeff Foxworthy’s material. After hearing what happened, a co-worker turned the show on in the company truck for me, and I listened, amazed and dumbfounded, to the latest proof of my hidden prejudice.

When we turned it on, Bubba and a pastor friend were counseling a caller, leading him to Christ over the air. What would have overwhelmed some men with grief, spawning bitterness against a God who could allow such tragedy, has been embraced by the family as an unknowable mystery that must be walked through, while giving glory to God and reaching out to as many people as they can.

Their web page is here; I encourage everyone to listen to Rick’s address at his son’s memorial service. As the Bible says, “We don’t mourn as those who have no hope” — but please keep this family in your prayers.


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