... WE GRIEVE when a friend or loved one is gone; we miss
the communion and fellowship that meant so much to us over the years. But we
don’t grieve as those without hope.
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During this week in July, an incident took place nearby our
home that left our family somewhat sombre.
Our neighbour, the man who lived beside our house has passed on. He left his wife and two young children
behind.
Even though our family and theirs are not considered to be
especially close, yet because they are our direct neighbour, it affects us to a
certain extend. The men of the house
would exchange short conversations in the garden while my husband attend to the
plants in the morning and occasionally the smiley faces next door would greet
us as we walked into our porch in the evenings.
Quite apparently we begin to notice a change in his appearance. He who was usually vivacious and outspoken
had suddenly withdrawn. A few weeks
later, he announced that he had cancer.
The months that followed had the disease took its toll on his body and
ultimately shutting down his systems.
The Bible, in the book of 1Thessalonians 4:13-14 reminded
us: “ Brothers
and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in
death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no
hope. For we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have
fallen asleep in him.”
For the Christians, “…to live is Christ and to die is gain”.
(Philippians 1:21). Death is not a lost,
infact if we would dare come face to face with God’s Word, we would realize
that death is actually a graduation to a higher realm. We have not lost those
whom we love, but we have released them to a better place knowing that there’s
a time where all would meet again and oh, what a joy that would be.
Yet with this apprehension, those who are left down here can’t
help but grieve. The author of
1Thessalonians made a clear illustration:
“…so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” We are not denying that sadness is
present. But we must not fall into despair. It is almost like what we would often say to
a friend or a family as they left for a visit, “missing you already!”
Jesus visibly shows His grief on certain occasions. His love can also be seen after the death of
his friend, Lazarus. As Jesus approached Lazarus' tomb and saw all the people
weeping, the Scripture says that "He groaned in the spirit and was
troubled" (John 11:33). Jesus grieved in sympathy with those who were
grieving over the loss of Lazarus, but when Jesus approached the tomb Himself,
He broke down and wept (John 11:35). The word here for wept means to weep
openly and deeply. Those standing by commented on His evident love for Lazarus.
Although grief is not a sign of faithlessness, we
often feel the weakest at such moments. How
then can we ensure that we do not grief unto despair? It is by offsetting with the
confidence of what God has prepared for this moment when our earthly pilgrimage
is finished. He has prepared a glorified place for those who know and follow
Him. He had provided complete healing for those who endured deteriorating
health in their final years. He has clothed in immortality a new, restored body
to those who became frail in body and mind in their latter years. What joy and
comfort this brings as the assurance of eternal life and entering into the
glorified presence of our Lord more than compensates for the grief of losing a
temporary earthly relationship. “For to
be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)
We, along with many other fellow saints have lived among
people who have no hope. That is why so many whose lives has been touched by
the Lord gave sacrificially to take the gospel around the world, that those
with no hope can find the assurance of eternal hope in Jesus Christ.
Yes, we grieve when a friend or loved one is gone; we miss
the communion and fellowship that meant so much to us over the years. But we
don’t grieve as those without hope. Hope is not wishful thinking that we have
the right theology but absolute assurance of a better life, an eternal life
where there are no more tears, crying or pain. We balance our grief with
rejoicing for the future we have in Christ.
