Remembering Sharon Mott

Our sister Sharon Mott passed away unexpectedly on July 27 from an apparent heart attack. She was my sister. (You can tell from the picture that we’re related.) We celebrated her home-going on Friday in a packed Emmanuel sanctuary with an extraordinary outpouring of grief and tears, laughing and thankfulness. We continue to uphold Patricia, Deborah, Clinton Jr, Clinton Sr, and the Mott family in prayer for peace and strength. Sharon’s passing at age 45 is another stunning reminder of the brevity of life and of the need to be mindful that God could call each of us away at any moment.
About a dozen of Sharon’s family and friends shared thoughtful and honest comments about who she was and how she affected us. People spoke from diverse perspectives like the churches she attended over the years, the Vons store where she worked, and the apartment where she lived. What emerged was a portrait of an ordinary, “just like us” person who was uniquely special, who was extraordinarily talented, and who loved the Lord. Her fellow Inspirational Choir members from Emmanuel will miss her deeply – her joy, her confident presence, her wit, her silly accents, her encouragement, and her amazing voice.
As I was privileged to share some comments as a fellow choir member, I reflected on the nature of suffering, and how in the face of untimely tragedies it’s natural to ask, “Why?” I believe we’re universally hard-wired to desire and expect a satisfying life. When tragedy interrupts, something inside of us knows it’s not right. We want to know why. Even Jesus, at the height of his human suffering on the cross, cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Of course, we know the despair of the question will not be comforted with an answer, at least not in this life.
The root of our desire for a satisfying life comes out of the perfect way God created us, eternal beings in perfect fellowship with our Father and Creator. When Satan tempted Adam and Eve, they used our gift of free will to choose sin, ushering in our age-old war with sin, death and hell. The amazing thing about God is His remedy for us – it’s not religion or good deeds or human potential. His remedy is Him. We’ll probably never realize the distance Jesus traveled from the throne of heaven to the soil of earth; but God sent His own Son to forever fix our problem of sin, death and hell. Since asking “Why?” leaves us empty, I suggest a better question to ask is “How?”
Lord, how could you love us so much? A lesser god would have hit “reset” and cancelled the human experiment. You could have done that. For some reason You love us so much you paid an immeasurable price with the life of your Son, knowing we could never fully understand or appreciate it. Rather than "why?”, I think "how could you love us so much?” will be a much more satisfying pursuit.