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updated most weekdays usually by Noon Eastern Time (USA).
(Click refresh or reload for current message) Thursday, June 9,
2022
Yesterday we stopped by this
rural greenhouse in northern Lebanon County.
"The
Downside Of Love"
Message
summary: We desire to have a healthy outlook toward
the inevitable grief periods in life and consider grief to
be a healthy dimension of giving love and being loved.
"Grief is the downside of love".
“I am about to go the way
of all the earth" (2 Kings 2:2). "A time to mourn"
(Ecclesiastes 3:4). "Godly men buried Stephen and mourned
deeply for him" (Acts 8:2). "But we do not want you to be
uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you
may not grieve as others do who have no hope" (1
Thessalonians 4:13).
A regular and necessary part
of ministry is supporting people during times of grief or
mourning. At any given time we have people on our hearts who
have recently lost a loved one and the sting of death is
still fresh.
Of course this is not only
true for those of us in "ministry" but for all of us.
Yesterday I had a pre-grief discussion with a young man
whose grandfather is nearing death. Of course prior to death
we always hold out for a healing and extension of life. But
inevitably, in a sense, we are always near death. Not only
are we reminded of it due to our aging bodies, disease, and
accidents, but also by the increasing violence that fills
our land and world.
I heard an interesting
perspective on a podcast that is so true, "Grief is the
downside of love". Now I can't imagine not accepting this
"downside of love" in exchange for the multitude of
blessings that love provides but some do and thus escape
grief, living only for themselves. They may feel no emotion
when others die and have no one to grieve for them when they
do. Some get into horrible life messes such as the homeless
and drug addicted. They are so detached from others that
when they die there may be no one who grieves.
Grief is defined as "deep sorrow,
especially that which is caused by someone's death." Robert
Orr, a hospice chaplain writes, "Grief is the last act of
love we give to our loved one. Where there is deep grief
there is great love."
David honestly faced the
inevitability of death in 2 Kings 2:2, "I am about to go
the way of all the earth".
Ecclesiastes 3:4 refers to "a
time to mourn". For those who love this "time to
mourn" is well-known, especially as we get older and older.
The first time of grief in the Bible was surely when Adam
and Eve heard the horrible news that one son had killed
another. Later in Genesis we read that the long-estranged
brothers Jacob and Esau gathered to bury their father Isaac.
Today's
third text gives insight into the emotion of grief in the
early church. After Stephen was stoned, "Godly men
buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him" (Acts 8:2).
Surely the grieving emotions for these godly men were no
less intense for them than they are for us in our losses. To
"mourn deeply" has the sense of great lamentation, "to beat
the breast in grief". Did they "understand" any better than
we do? Surely not. But our faith must confront such reality.
Our fourth text is the beginning of a portion that teaches about the rapture of the church (although Scripture does not use the word). Paul did not want his initial Thessalonian readers (and through Scripture all of us) to be uninformed. The specific issue was death described with the euphemism, "those who are asleep" (later in the text described as "the dead in Christ" (v.16). He informed them so "that
[they] may not grieve as others do who have no hope".
He is contrasting those who die as believers in Christ and
those who aren't, "For since we believe that Jesus died
and rose again" (v.14).
The aspect of grieve here
can be taken in two different ways:
1) As
believers we will not grieve. One writer's
perspective, "Paul writes to the saints at Thessalonica who
had lost loved ones so that they would not grieve but to the
contrary they would be empowered by this sound doctrine
regarding a believer's death to comfort one another with the
sure hope of future glory to be revealed at Christ's return"
2) As
believers we will grieve but not in the same
way "as others do who have no hope". The Precept
Austin Online commentary is helpful in explaining this:
We should
not misunderstand what Paul is saying here about not
grieving. He is not saying that believers are not to
experience and express the normal sorrow that accompanies
the death of a loved one which brings with it the pain of
separation and loneliness. Even our Lord Jesus grieved over
the death of His friend ("Jesus… was deeply moved in spirit
and was troubled… Jesus wept" John 11:35). Although Jesus
expressed sorrow, He did not despair over never seeing His
friend again. Normal human beings grieve over the physical
death of their loved ones. Paul is not saying Christians are
to be dehumanized by removing grief from the realm of their
experience. He goes on to qualify that the believer's grief
is not as the rest, for the believer's goodbye is only
temporary and our sure hope of reunion with our believing
loved ones is forever!
We hold the second view and
desire to have a healthy outlook toward the inevitable grief
periods in life and consider grief to be a
healthy dimension of giving love and being loved. "Grief
is the downside of love".
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily
prayer: God of all Comfort, would
You bring reassuring comfort that is
even more present than the inevitable
mourning that accompanies the loss of
loved ones. May You be glorified in the
midst of one's emotional devastation
when leaders are called upon to give
words of comfort and guidance to family
members and friends. We find great
consolation in knowing that those who
breathed their last here on earth
breathed their first in God's immortal
Kingdom that will reign for all
eternity. Sin is swallowed up in victory
because death no longer reigns when
these mortal bodies take on
immortality! So we are not
overcome by grief but we overcome grief
with this essential knowledge that comes
from Your Holy Scriptures as we commit
our thoughts and our ways to You, our
Master Comforter. Amen.
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"Forever
Home" Video Brian
Free & Assurance
"Homesick
For Heaven" Video Jim
Brady Trio
"I
Can't Erase The Message" Video
Tim
Livingston
"Present
in the Presence of the King"
Video
The Guardians
Grief Poem (Robert Orr, hospice chaplain) For
further study on the topic of grieving
in 1 Thessalonians 4: A
thoughtful discussion on 1
Thessalonians 4:13,14 from the Precept
Austin online commentary
I took this
photo from the rural greenhouse in
northern Lebanon County.
In the
distance you can see Blue Mountain where
the Appalachian Trail runs along the
ridge.
A Lancaster
County farm view with an Amish farmer
doing fieldwork in the distance.
Finally
today:
For about
six years Thoebe and Notsen Ncube, along
with their two sons, have been our
neighbors and friends. They recently
completed their studies and will soon
return to their homeland where they will
continue to serve the Lord in ministry.
Since we are originally from the Midwest
Brooksyne often makes a pot of pinto beans
and ham along with cornbread which her
family ate once a week when she was
growing up. The Ncubes have joined us for
this meal in the past and enjoyed it as
well since it's a staple in their country.
That's the bag Tho is carrying as
Brooksyne sent her home with a couple
quarts of beans along with cornbread for
her family. She is wearing traditional
attire from their African home in Zimbabwe
where textile manufacturers print colorful
and bold designs.
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Stephen & Brooksyne Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity." © Copyright 2022 Stephen C. & Brooksyne Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA |