Review -- "From Grief to Glory: a Book of Comfort for Grieving Parents"

If you know of anyone who has lost a child, I highly recommend getting a copy of James W. Bruce III’s From Grief to Glory: a Book of Comfort for Grieving Parents for them. When I first looked at the book, I thought it would be the story of Bruce’s loss – and that is included – his son, John, died after fifty-five days, but he also combs through the history of couples who have lost children and responded to their loss in a biblical way.

The reader will not only learn of the loss experienced by John Bunyan, Martin Luther, John Calvin. R. L. Dabney, C. H. Spurgeon, John Bradford, Lemuel Haynes, and many others, one will be drawn both anecdotally and scripturally to consider the sovereignty of God, even in this desperate loss.

Bruce is gentle and comforting in his approach, explaining that this book came out of his seeking the Scripture and history for comfort and understanding of his loss. I have already given copies of this book to two people, and I plan to buy more to have on hand for others who go though this valley of tears. Although this book is written for those who have lost children, I believe it can also minister to any who have experienced loss.

There are two points at which I do have to take issue with Bruce: when addressing the issue of the eternal state of those who die in infancy, he quotes from the Westminster Confession of Faith which states: “Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit who works when, and where, and how he pleases” (145-146). He goes on to quote, in a footnote, from A. A. Hodge and Charles Hodge that this means that all infants are elect and are received into the Kingdom. I am surprised that the Hodges drew this conclusion from the Scripture, much less the Confession. It reads as though they are arguing for an age of accountability or something along those lines. I do not believe that what the Scripture or the authors of the Confession intended. It seems the better argument would be that the Scripture does not say, but, we know that election is form the foundation of the world, so those who have been elect are received into the Kingdom, no matter what their age. Otherwise, one might argue in a Swiftian manner, that abortion is the best tool for evangelism.

A second, and, admittedly, less important note, as it is only as a passing comment, Bruce summarizes John Flavel saying that “animals sense no sorrow” (161). If that is what Flavel said, it seems a very naive perspective on animals and their emotions. While I would grant that there is nothing in the Scripture that plainly states that animals have souls or are in need of salvation, anyone who has ever had a companion animal knows that they have emotions.

Even with this being said, I highly recommend the book for all those who experience loss and need biblical comfort, and especially those who have lost a child. (Just be prepared to address the issue of the eternal state of the infant.)