We Have Hope in Times of Grief   

Recently we took a day trip to visit our son and his family who live about two and a half hours away from us. Because of the distance, we don’t get to see them as often as our other children and grandchildren who live closer. After having an enjoyable visit, we announced that we were going to have to leave. Our three-year-old grandson started to cry, expressing his sadness about our departure. We hated to see him cry, but at the same time it was heartwarming to know that he loved us and wanted us to stay. Finally, we were able to comfort him with the reminder that it would not be too long before he would be coming to our house to visit us. Getting him focused on looking ahead to our next reunion seemed to reduce his grief over the fact that we were leaving him at the moment.

I thought of that scene with our grandson as I prepared to attend a funeral a few days later. When a loved one leaves this life, it can be difficult. We don’t want that person to go. We grieve over the loss that we experience. It isn’t going to be the same without him or her. We have precious memories of our time together. In many cases, our time spent with that person spanned not just a few hours of a day trip but years, maybe even our whole lives. We don’t want it to end.

Such grief is understandable. It reveals and expresses our great love for that person. However, we shouldn’t get mired down in the natural sadness we can feel on those occasions. This is especially true when we have assurance that the person who left this life was putting his trust in Jesus as his Savior. Like in our grandson’s case, we can choose to focus less on our current loss and more on our future reunion with that person. Of course, this is assuming that we ourselves also are enjoying a right relationship with God through faith in Christ. If so, then we can look ahead to the time when we will be going to where he is one day. This isn’t the end. We will see our loved one again. He has left us, but we will be going to meet up with him at the better place where he now resides. We will have a wonderful reunion at our Lord’s house – our heavenly home.

The Bible reminds us that while we grieve, we shouldn’t “sorrow as others who have no hope” (I Thessalonians 4:13). We know that death doesn’t have the final word. We remember that Jesus has won the victory over sin and the grave. His resurrection proves that there is life after death, and a glorious life for those who follow Him. Therefore when we experience the loss of a loved one, we can echo the sentiments expressed by David at the death of his infant son – “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (II Samuel 12:23).

We can’t bring our departed family members and friends back to us. And to be honest, if they are in the presence of the Lord, they will not want to come back. What they are experiencing now is so much better than even the best of circumstances on this earth. However, we can be comforted in the fact that we will go to them. And that is what we need to focus on as we move forward.  

We can grieve. We can shed tears over our loss. However, we can also rejoice in the hope we have of a future reunion. Let’s keep looking ahead to that glorious day.