Jonah 2:2-3 I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

Today it seems we have the news that many of us have been expecting ever since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 dropped off radar screens on March 8th. It is now believed the flight, and all aboard, was lost in the Indian Ocean.
I could not but be moved by the desperation and grief of so many of the family members. It is plain that they believe that their loved ones are lost, irretrievably, without trace. It would take, I think, a heart of stone not to weep with those that weep.
Coincidentally, last night Myra and I watched a fascinating TV program about a forensic investigation into the identity of some of the bodies recovered after the sinking of the Titanic. The care and persistence of the Canadian scientists was remarkable but the impression that remains with me is the passionate desire of the relatives of those lost in the disaster to have their family members identified. Even though these were people they could never have met they hungered for some kind of closure to this chapter of their history.
As I thought about these tragedies I was reminded of a verse from a beautiful book in the Apocrypha: “And some there be, which have no memorial; who are perished, as though they had never been; and are become as though they had never been born; and their children after them.” (Ecclesiasticus 44:9). Then I thought of Jonah — at the bottom of the sea, lost but not forgotten.
This is the hope that only Christ-followers have. No matter where we are, in the depths of the sea or on the mountain tops, in the city or in the desert, there is one who knows where we are. We are never lost, never forgotten, never abandoned.
I was struck by a report about the families of passengers who waited for news in China: “For spiritual support, the airline has brought in blue-and-white-suited volunteers from Tzu Chi, or Compassionate Relief, a charity founded by Taiwanese Buddhists. China’s government has traditionally been suspicious of overseas religious groups, but it tolerates Tzu Chi, whose members are careful to avoid politics and proselytizing. Team member Tseng Yun-chi says they often help relatives with just a pat on the shoulder, a hot cup of tea or a sympathetic ear.”
Our work is not done until nobody has to rely on “just a pat on the shoulder, a hot cup of tea or a sympathetic ear” because everyone knows that their loved ones are never lost because they know “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139:9-10). Until that day, disasters like the death of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 are doubly tragic.