對父母來說，失去一個孩子已十分哀傷，更何況是接連失去兩個孩子！澳洲音樂家、作家兼演員尼克．凱夫（Nick Cave）就曾親身經歷這樣的傷痛。2015年，他15歲的兒子墜崖身亡；幾年後，他最大的孩子也過世了。面對如此巨大的傷痛，凱夫與妻子是如何撐下去的呢？你又會怎麼做呢？

凱夫嘗試從周遭的世界尋求安慰。他說：「在錐心蝕骨的悲痛中，這個世界依然無畏地展現驚人的美麗。……我看到的這個世界，它還是持續地、井然有序地燦爛華麗！」

耶穌也談到這樣的美麗，祂看到了世界的真實面貌：上帝的創造。祂說：「你們想一想百合花是怎麼長起來的」（路加福音12章27節，和合本修訂版）。這節常被人引用的經文，並沒有否定我們面對的苦難。事實上，這節經文正視我們巨大的傷痛，為殘酷的現實提供一個解方，就是停下腳步，看看日出，或想想百合花如何生長，烏鴉如何存活（24節）。耶穌說：「野地裡的草……上帝還給它這樣的裝飾，何況你們呢！」（28節）

在面對悲傷和失落的時候，企圖以人的觀點在周遭世界尋找安慰往往會令人失望。耶穌勉勵我們仰望上帝，這位萬有的創造者以大能維繫祂的創造，並且深深地眷顧我們。

For a parent, the death of a child is devastating. But to lose two of your children? Unimaginable! Yet that’s the experience of Australian musician, writer, and actor Nick Cave. In 2015, his fifteen-year-old son fell from a cliff and died. A few years later, Cave’s oldest child also died. In the grip of such overwhelming grief, how did Cave and his wife keep going? How would you?

Cave attempted to find comfort in the world around him. “It’s the audacity of the world to continue to be beautiful . . . in times of deep suffering. That’s how I saw the world,” he said. “It was just carrying on, being systemically gorgeous.”

Jesus spoke of such beauty, and He saw it for what it truly is: the creation of God. His oft-quoted words in Luke 12—“consider the lilies” (v. 27 esv)—don’t dismiss the reality of suffering in our lives. In fact, they honor our great tragedies by offering an antidote to such harsh realities. Stop and consider the lilies or the ravens (v. 24) or the sunrise. Christ taught us, “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field . . . how much more will he clothe you” (v. 28).

In the face of grief and loss, the world’s perspective falls short. Jesus encourages us to consider our creator God, who holds His audacious creation together and cares for us deeply.