"The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).

"Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto Him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master" (John 20:16).

"The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness" (Isaiah 57:1-2).

This age-old question really has a simple answer. Attempts to answer it, however, and attempts to get around implications of the simple answer are often quite convoluted.

As the year 2004 comes to a close, and the year 2005 brings new opportunities, we can only say with the psalmist, "This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes" (Psalm 118:23). For all these 34 years of ICR's existence, He has supplied every need and given such victories that we can only stand in awe of Him, and express our thankfulness and praise.