"...a sword shall pierce through thy own soul..."How agonizing for a parent to stand by and watch as a grown child suffers for his or her sins. In Mary's case, her child was suffering because of others' sins (He had none of His own.) But, in the case of many of our children, it comes as a result of theirs. Nevertheless, this giant, razor-sharp sword pierces through our souls as well. It passes, as it were, through our very soul, slicing the heart until it bleeds so much we feel our very life is being drained from us.
The Bible gives us examples of parents who experienced such piercing pain. What mother or father cannot relate to the prodigal's parent as he patiently, but painfully, waits, watches, and wonders if his wayward child will ever return? And what of the deep agony of David's soul when he cried, "Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
I realize the picture is not the same as Mary's; but the principle is. Though the comparison of our children to Mary's Child is unthinkable, yet there is some comfort in the story. Just as Mary's faith was grounded in the Word of God, which sustained her, so it can be with us. She was promised that, although her child was set for a fall (for others), yet there would be a rising again. Is there not a promise lying somewhere dormant within the pages of God's Holy Writ just waiting for us to draw from it's strength? Perhaps, one such as: "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.....And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children."
Parental pain for prodigals is forgotten when they are sitting around the table again.
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