Issue 28 Grief and LamentBlog | Grief: giving us an opportunity to believe
Grief: giving us an opportunity to believe
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 17.09.21
One of the most revealing scriptures to me about the heart of God, through Jesus Christ, is found in the account of Lazarus. The raising of Lazarus from the dead, after four days, is arguably one of the greater miracles Christ performed. It beautifully highlights the tension of our Christ who had to navigate his humanity with his divinity; but what does it reveal to us about the believers’ heart posture towards death and grief?
‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up’, Jesus said. His disciples replied, ‘Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.’ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So, then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.’ What an exchange between Jesus and his disciples. I’m convinced a similar conversation continues today between us and God, that somehow through death and grief our belief can be strengthened.
On this side of eternity there still remains a false finality to death. We know that Christ is risen, we sing the songs about his empty tomb and the victory he has over death, but has this truth crossed the chasm between the pulpit to the pews and into lives? Still today, when someone in our community loses a loved one it presents the same opportunity Jesus put before his disciples; the opportunity for greater belief. A message that nothing is impossible for our God, and even death is not above him. However, there are a few challenges in how we communicate this message. There is the great hurdle of grief and the deep wave of pain that accompanies it, and if care and compassion are not taken, our message of victory and hope can sound very much like clanging bells in the midst of great suffering.
