01/20/2022
Mourning - at some point in our lives, sadness and sorrow visit us all, but we find it to be like a winter field that is burnt off; from its ashes our capacity to praise God springs up anew, and in the spring we bear a bountiful crop. Like pruning increases the yield of a vine, and fertilizer nourishes the soil, so does our pain and suffering enrich the yield of our souls. In season our gladness returns, and we sing again, for although every man is meant once to die, in Christ he rises again, and our joy returns with eternal vigor.
“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!”
Psalm 30:11-12 ESV
Mourning comes to us all, and is a natural offshoot of having loved. We don’t mourn those things we haven’t first loved, and the deeper our love has been, the more pronounced the sorrow when it is lost. Yet would we sacrifice a moment of that love to avoid the pain of its loss?
““Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4 ESV
We know life here on earth, and although we believe, and have faith in what awaits us in heaven, we desire to hold tight to those things we can touch, smell, and see with our eyes. Likewise we want to live in the love we currently know, but there is a greater love that awaits us.
“Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 5:8 ESV
Years ago I saw pictures taken during a terrible famine in which people were starving to death, and their bodies were withering away. One picture is engrained in my memory, and I will never forget it. This picture was of a mother who was sitting with her back against a mud wall with her breasts bared, every rib showing, and a look of imminent death on her sunken face… yet she was holding her dying baby to her breast, even though it was nursing nothing more than hanging skin. At first I was horrified, then grieved, but finally I saw the incredible love. I saw a mother that was offering all she had, even her last ounce of strength, out of love for this child. She was offering her life for love; hoping for a miracle to save her child. Perhaps the photographer who took that picture became the instrument of her prayers… the miracle.
This scene reveals the power of love, and what we are willing to sacrifice for it. I have told this story to ask one question… would we not endure the pain and suffering of mourning if it meant that our loved one would live eternally in bliss, and joy? Well that is exactly what is happening in this world every day as the faithful die, and people mourn, but for those who believe there is always the hope and promise of God.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.””
Revelation 21:4-5 ESV
So, we mourn in equal portion to having once loved, but our sadness is not meant to endure because our promise is not in death, but love, eternal life, and endless joy.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for loving us so much that you sent your Son to die that we would have life. Thank you for showing us in His resurrection, and ascension, that you are awaiting us, just as you received Him, with open arms filled with love and joy. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who teaches us to love, and walks with us through death to show us how painful it is to lose love. Praised be your name for the lesson of our mourning, but greater yet for showing us that love has overcome death, and that eternal joy awaits us in Heaven. Merciful are you who soothes our pain, and suffering when we mourn, and returns us to happiness by showing us a glimpse of Heaven, and the love that awaits us there. Your grace is our salve that heals our pain, and your mercy the hand that applies it to our wounds. Wonderful is your love, and amazing its depth. You suffered in the Garden of Eden at our loss, and your mourning brought the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to redeem us, and to dry every eye. We are healed of sin, and raised from death by your love, and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Raise us up in Christ, and seat us at your table forevermore. Show us the suffering of love lost, and how you have healed its wounds for all time.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 ESV
Rich Forbes