I have some good news today for widows. [How many of you fall into that category?] Some of you have been widowed and remarried. Some of you still grieve the loss of your life’s partner. If you are a widow, you can probably use some good news. It’s not easy losing a spouse. Some of you have a void in life that nothing will ever fill. But here’s the good news. Jesus is aware of your situation, and Jesus is aware of your faithfulness to the church.

Pastor James Love tells about a friend of his, a young minister, who serves at a large church. This church hired a professional church fund-raiser to help them with a large capital-funds campaign. The fund-raiser told this story:

At the initial meeting, the fund-raiser asked the board about their goals for the campaign. Someone said, “You have to…