Hey folks. If you're ever in Switzerland, be sure to visit Geneva, that beautiful city on the lake. When you're there, you'll be greeted by none other than the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. He's waiting there for you silently, not far from John Calvin's church.
Swiss sculptor Auguste de Niederhäusern completed the statue in 1913, just prior to his death. The figure of the prophet embodied sorrow. Hunched over, the "weeping prophet" mourns the fate of his people.
Every time I see the statue of Jeremiah I give thanks to God. The words of the great prophet (found in Jeremiah and Lamentations) came from a pain-filled past. And as his gaze looks down on you, you easily think back on your own heartache and grief.
Tomorrow will mark the 12th anniversary of my wife's death from cancer. Her passing reminds me that the Christian life isn't just about the Scriptures or the church or missions. It's also about a Person, a Safe Place to be sequestered, a Soul-Lover who understands the journey I'm on because he completed it himself. Corrie ten Boom, one of my favorite theologians of all time, put it this way:
Look inside and be depressed.
Look outside and be distressed.
Look to Him and be at rest.
If you, dear friend, are facing the silent scream of pain today, or if you're just tired of running your race, please remember that though terrors in this life surely await us, life is still worth living -- celebrating even -- if we keep our focus on Jesus.
In essence, that's the message God told the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah. That same God today promises us adequate strength through all of the hardships of life.