I’ve recently come across an author for American Thinker, Robin of Berkley. I absolutely love her work and story telling style. Here is an ex-script from her post titled “Tiger, the Buddha, and me”:
Here’s my favorite story about the Buddha: A grieving young mother from a poor background begged him to revive her dead son. Not only was she heartbroken, but she feared her husband’s wealthy family would punish and shun her for the child’s death.
The Buddha promised to bring the boy back to life if she returned with a mustard seed from a home where death had never visited. She thanked him profusely and set off for town.
The young mother knocked on door after door and heard heartbreaking stories of loss. Finally, she grasped the Buddha’s teaching: that sorrow is a part of life. She returned, bowed deeply to the Buddha, and asked him to help her bury her child.
It’s too bad that the mother didn’t visit Jesus’s home. While He may not have given her a mustard seed, He might have given her faith of about the same size (Matthew 17:20). That faith might have been large enough to move mountains, including the mountain of death that we all face (Romans 6:23). She might have also realized that while the Buddha is right, death has touched every house (Including God’s own house.), he was wrong in that death is not just a natural part of life. That we should just dispassionately accept it and move on.
Death is not natural (Genesis 2:17), it is the result of evil (James 1:15). Not everyone has tasted death (Hebrews 11:5), and even those who have are not without hope of having their condition reversed. (John 3:16)
The good news is that death will one day be defeated. (1 Corinthians 15:26). Then, those of us who have decided to stand with Jesus will say:
“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” -Isaiah 25:8, 1 Corinthians 15:55