For a parent, the death of a child is devastating. But to lose two of your children? Unimaginable! Yet that’s the experience of Australian musician, writer, and actor Nick Cave. In 2015, his 15-year-old son fell from a cliff and died. A few years later, Cave’s oldest child also died. In the grip of such overwhelming grief, how did Cave and his wife keep going? How would you?

Cave attempted to find comfort in the world around him. “It’s the audacity of the world to continue to be beautiful . . . in times of deep suffering. That’s how I saw the world,” he said. “It was just carrying on, being systemically gorgeous.”

Jesus knew the Source of such beauty, and He saw it for what it truly is: the very nature of His heavenly Father. His oft-quoted words in Luke 12—“consider the lilies” (v. 27 esv)—don’t dismiss the reality of suffering in our lives. In fact, they honor our great tragedies by offering an antidote to such harsh realities. Stop and consider the lilies, or the ravens (v. 24), or the sunrise. Christ taught us, “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field . . . how much more will he clothe you!” (v. 28).

In the face of grief and loss, the world’s perspective falls short. Jesus encourages us to consider our Creator God who holds His audacious creation together and cares for us deeply.