But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
Grief is an aspect of life that is unfortunately unavoidable. We live in a fallen world, and we experience the effects of that fallen world every single day. Deep down inside we know, things in this world are not the way they’re supposed to be. Most of the time our grief comes to us when we lose friends and family members, when the inevitability of death creeps into our lives. Grief is something that happens to every single one of us, put for the believer in Jesus Christ, our grief comes with one unbelievable thing: hope.
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:3-5
Grief is just another one of those tribulations, times of suffering, that every single person experiences. But for the believer in Christ, that grief comes with hope, and hope doesn’t disappoint us because through the Holy Spirit the love of Christ has poured into us. We have hope in knowing that in Jesus Christ this world is not the end for us: in fact this world is just the beginning. We were not made for this world, at least not the world in its present condition, we were created for the world before the fall. The grief and suffering we go through now is because of the fall in one day that will all be done.
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:18
These two passages speak of the eternal weight of glory, and how the glory that will be revealed in us is not even worried to be compared to the suffering that we go through here on earth. This is something that can be a comfort to anyone of us that grief, this is the hope that comes with our grief. All of us grieve in different ways, for some people it takes months, for others it may take years, but the Lord is working through our lives to create in us a renewed spirit. We can live our lives as those who have gone before us, those who have fallen asleep, those in which we will be reunited with someday.
Hebrews 11:8-10
Just as Abraham lived his life in accordance with faith we can follow in his footsteps, understanding that we’re strangers in this alien land. Knowing that our true home is not here on earth, but in heaven, received with glory, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus said in John chapter 14 that he was going to prepare a place for us, that if it wasn’t true he wouldn’t tell us. But he promised that we’d have a dwelling place beyond this world, and that one day we will be reunited with him, as he ascended into heaven to lead the way.
All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.
Hebrews 11:13-14
The great men and women of faith found in Hebrews Chapter 11 he died without receiving the promises of this future Kingdom. Even today those of us who pass from this world into the next do not fully receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. But one day, as we seek a country that is not our own, as we seek an eternal heavenly dwelling place, we will receive that eternal weight of glory at the second coming of Jesus Christ. One day all of this will pass away and a new heaven and a new earth will take its place. As Shakespeare put it, we will travel to the undiscovered country.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:1-4
One day all the horrible things in this world will pass away and all that will remain ohh the good things. This is the hope that we have in Jesus Christ, this is the hope we have in knowing that everyone that accepts Jesus Christ will be in that place with us. That is the hope that we carry with us throughout all of eternity. In the meantime, we seek the things above and not the things below, we seek out to the things of God and we dwell on the good things. We pray for those who grieve, because when one member of the body is in pain every member of the body is in pain. But our hope is ultimately in Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Our true comfort comes from Jesus, from the protection and guidance that he provides for us. In this world we will suffer, but the comfort that we’ve received through Jesus Christ is going too far outweigh that in the end. In the meantime, we press forward, we keep our eye on the prize knowing that someday we will be reunited with those that have gone before us. Knowing that God causes all things to work together for the good.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28