Josh was special.
His
mother experienced a very tough pregnancy and there were complications at
birth, yet Josh survived that difficult beginning, for which his parents were
exceedingly grateful.
He
showed talent and promise early in life, and he grew into a godly young man. His parents loved him deeply.
Josh learned a trade, following in his father's footsteps. After a few years of
working on his own, he made the decision to leave his profession and enter into
fully supported ministry.
He
was a strong leader and very charismatic—the kind of guy that affluent people
wanted to be around and blue-collar guys would follow.
Josh
could have chosen to minister to people in the United States. Instead, he saw his mission as expanding the Kingdom of God to all parts of the world, and he chose
another country.
Josh
was a dynamic preacher. Crowds of people would flock to hear him. His messages also
contained real spiritual meat. He was extremely sound doctrinally and no one
who knew his Bible would dare accuse him of proclaiming false teaching.
Josh
committed himself to mission work. His effort paid off and he helped grow a
small community of faith.
Tragically,
not everyone appreciated Josh's ministry. Some of the native religious leaders found
his message threatening. They offered trumped up charges to local government
officials who, unfortunately, did not always seek to do right. Events spiraled
out-of-control and, incredibly, some political leaders executed Josh.
Members
of Josh's congregation were crushed. Where was God in all this? Why would God
allow such a good man—with all of his life ahead of him—to die? Why did God
allow him to die in such an unjust way?
Has
tragedy ever happened to you? Has catastrophe struck anyone you have known?
Have you ever witnessed someone young and full of promise struck down with
major illness or death—and all of that promise go to waste? Has a family member
suffered an unspeakable tragedy leaving all of you wondering why God let you
down?
Maybe
you suffered through a job loss. Perhaps you lost your health. Maybe you agonized
through the death of one of your children.
The truth is each one of us at one time or another has probably experienced an
encounter with the painful side of life in a fallen world. It may have left you
shaking your head and questioning the work of God.
I
certainly cannot account for what God actively did or passively allowed in your
circumstance; however, I can say this. Returning to Josh’s story, as strange as
it may sound, I'm awfully glad Josh died.
You
would think that a guy who was such a good missionary, good preacher, a guy who
made such an impact on people, and a guy who was such a good man would be indispensable. The fact is… it was his death that was indispensable.
You
see, after Josh died, some of his friends buried him. Three days later, he rose
from the dead. Yet, the spiritual accomplishments rooted in that 72-hour period
defied description. As strange as it may sound, the tragedy of Josh (Joshua, or
as we in my country call him–Jesus) was the most important event in human
history. In addition, the reality that his resurrected body departed this world meant
that his spirit remained—residing in the physical bodies of his disciples,
which empowered them for ministry.
I
am still trying to learn from those who loved Josh long ago. What appeared to
be a tragic and unexplainable mistake of God would ultimately prove to be the greatest blessing for people. God continues to work in that mysterious way.
As for those worried about what Josh might have missed dying so young, I
would say that he has had a pretty good life for the past 2000 years.
