Ten months ago Tim and Carinda Kerr were on their way to the country of Ukraine—a former country in the U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) to adopt twin boys. But God had other plans. Instead, God led the Kerr’s to Brandon. From the very first pixilated picture that Tim and Carinda saw, one thing stood out. What was that thing? A smile. Yes, a smile. Brandon smiled. Brandon smiled all the time. And Brandon’s smile made others smile. It was contagious. One look at Brandon and there was that consistent smile. You could give him a serious look. He would try to look serious, but the smile would always win out. For eight months that smile captured our hearts, and we had dreamed of seeing Brandon play soccer and basketball on the BBA varsity team. I thought on more than one occasion of the day I would be his Bible teacher.
We have no idea why God called Brandon home. I mean we don’t have any answers. There are no answers. It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make a lick of sense from my perspective. But from the Word of God I have a promise, and that promise lives on even on a day when you must tell a 3rd grade class that their buddy and classmate will not be in his seat anymore. And that promise is crystal clear.
The Bible says that “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). There is no question but that Tim and Carinda were called by God according to His divine purpose to adopt Brandon. God provided and opened doors and answered the prayers of His people in a way that removes all doubt that this was anything but the Work of God. Therefore, I must console myself with the divine promise that this will work together for good. The Bible does not say that it may or most of the time—the text is much clearer than that. The Bible says that the premature death of Brandon Sergey Kerr will be used by God for good. How? We don’t know. In fact, it may be that only until we are face to face with Him Who orchestrates all things to His glory will we know more.
This does not mean that our hearts ache any less. It doesn’t mean that we are not tempted to be bitter or angry at a good God who allows bad things to happen. But when these feelings engulf our hearts we must run to the gospel. For in the gospel we find God taking the worst thing that has ever happened in human history—the crucifying of the sinless, only begotten Son of God—and turning that into good! Trust in the gospel. With hearts that break, souls that mourn, spirits that are heavy, eyes that are weeping and voices that are cracking trust in the goodness of God who planned this glorious gospel even before the foundation of the world to the glory of His own pleasure.
Join me in running to the gospel,
Pastor Sean
