Words to the Wise: Comfort in the Waters
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
1 Thessalonians 4:13, NKJV
Scars are a feature of life in this world
So why is my heart so worn and so cold?
You’d think I’d be over it by now
But hope calls from beyond the sound
The above are lyrics from a song I’m writing on the reality of life in a fallen world. I wrote this verse wondering why it is that we grieve when tragic things happen to us - why should we care when tragedy is part and parcel of this world, that we created?
This is the question I am essaying - attempting - to answer today. In the end, we grieve because we care about our relationships. Whether it is estrangement, divorce, or death, we grieve because we love the one who is now lost. How is it, then, that we as Christians can grieve with hope?
We can grieve those lost to us with hope because, if they know Jesus as we do, they are with Him forever. Paul said in Philippians 1:21 that to live is Christ, and to die is gain. In other words, either is a win-win situation - but Paul says that to be with Christ is far better.
Even though we do miss the person lost to us, they are with Jesus, in perfection, forever - leaving behind the pain of this world to enjoy everlasting life, where life truly begins.
Moreover, the reality they are experiencing will be ours as well - giving us something to look forward to and reason to avoid the common fear of death (Hebrews 2:15).
Secondly, we can grieve with hope because God is Emmanuel - He is with us, and He comforts us. Death is a tribulation (2 Corinthians 1:4) that no one should have to bear, yet we do - everyday, too many of us experience the reality of loss.
Thankfully, God, who is omnipresent, draws near to us as we experience our brokenheartedness (Psalm 34:18), even while experiencing eternal life with the one who is with Jesus. Even though for the Christian to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, we who live on earth still experience life in our bodies. Since Jesus lived a human life, with a body, God can sympathize with us who are on earth alive as we experience our grief (Hebrews 4:15).
Finally, we grieve with hope because we care. Were death a normal feature of this world from its outset, simply another part of the circle of life, we would not grieve because we would be used to it.
But when someone close to you is lost - either through death, separation, estrangement or other means - grief hits us like a wave hits the sand and a furious tide starts. We might walk through the seven stages of grief.
Suffice it to say that we care about those close to us who are now gone. We experience this because we know, intuitively, that something is wrong - and this is true. Death wasn’t meant to be a feature of life in this world. But it is - and we grieve because we know this isn’t the way things are supposed to be, and that things could be better.
That’s what I meant when I wrote “Hope calls from beyond the sound.”
The hope of seeing our loved ones again carries us through the sound of grief.
The hope of a new world without death and pain anchors us to the God who comforts us.
The hope that our loved ones’ reality, in death, will be ours too gives us eyes to see what we cannot see as we hope for the life of heaven.
Take heart today, friends.
Discussion Questions
How does it impact your view of God to know He comforts you in your grief?
How does it make you feel that your loved one’s reality will one day be your own?
What is one thing you want to do to remind you this week that you can grieve with hope?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ozi Ojukwu is a girl wildly in love with Jesus. A recent graduate of Cedarville University, she is a 2022 Colson Fellow, having learned about the fundamentals of a Christian worldview and how it connects to all of public life. She is a first-generation Nigerian-American and loves writing poetry and music, dabbles in photography, and is obsessed with popular culture. A bookworm to the core, she loves reading both historical fiction and memoirs. Her favorite verse is Romans 1:16.