The Death of a Giant, the Passing of a Generation

I often have disagreed with Elie Wiesel but I cannot help but respect him. I cannot fully fathom what he endured and long ago I was moved by his story and his writings. His death is but another reminder of that passing generation that grew up in what must seem to them a different world.

If you've never read 'Night' I certainly recommend it. It's not an easy read (emotionally) but that's hardly the point.

I must say... and this will offend the world... that with his death comes the reminder of the sorrow and tragedy that comes with rejecting the gospel. It's sad to think of someone like Wiesel and the many like him who bore such grief... only to find out that in the grave there is no peace, no hope... no rest.

I suppose there's a danger in being a victim of great injustice. Does it blind you to your own unrighteousness and sin, your own need for redemption and reconciliation? Many Jews lost their faith during the Holocaust. In its wake they became a bitter but very determined people. May we also say that in many cases they also became as those who are blind? How many would acknowledge that in the end they need God's grace just as much as Eichmann or Göring?

Some eschewed all religion, others sought peace in ecumenical outreach and phony ritual... houses built on sand.

It is sad to me to think of someone like Wiesel... now truly lost. His gift to us, his story and testimony are all that he leaves behind... and now they are things that he himself no longer cares about. I felt the same way about Simon Wiesenthal, another man that I admired, another man whose story profoundly moved me. I read Wiesenthal as a pagan and as a Christian. It changed the perspective a bit but I still found his witness to be moving and was very saddened when he died in 2005.

God will indeed wipe the tears from our eyes. There is no joy in this life. Our joy as Christians is rooted in the age to come.