When a loved one who knew Christ as Savior dies we grieve because of our loss. We miss them! I still wish for the opportunity to talk to many folks for whom I have attended a funeral. My granddad and I talked many hours about life, the Bible and Heaven. I miss those talks. I grieve but I do NOT grieve as one who has no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). I know the words of Christ are true and one day my grief will be completely taken away and I will be reunited with my grandfather in the presence of Christ. I have this hope (anticipation of good) because we both accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
When you sin do you grieve over your sin? And if you grieve are you grieving because you hurt the heart of God (Godly sorrow) or because you were caught doing wrong? Or maybe you grieve because it was wrong to do what you did (worldly sorrow). Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 7:10, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." Are you genuinely sorry for your sin because you know it offended a holy God who loves you and died for your sins? If so, comfort for your sorrow is available in repentance and the knowledge Jesus forgives you. You do not have to carry the burden of guilt, pain and sorrow for your sin! If you are sorry your sin hurt the heart of God and repent God is ready to lift the burden and give you comfort and rest!
I pray for those of you who are mourning today. I pray you will find the Lord's kind of comfort and be encouraged!
James
There's another type of mourning that this scripture is possibly referencing--the mourning over a broken world and a sinful people, a recognition of the basic neediness of the world. This is the type of mourning Jesus did when he looked over Jerusalem, the unrepentant city, and wept. This is the type of mourning George Whitefield did as he replaced preaching with crying over a congregation that was so hardened they couldn't even see their sin. This is the groaning and laboring with birth pangs that we do with the whole Creation, eagerly waiting the adoption, the redemption, of our bodies and the fixing of this whole broken ecosystem (which includes the spiritual and the physical). This mourning can only be done if we have God's perspective on the world, its past, and its promised future.
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Good word Joshua! Thanks for taking the time to write this bro!
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