Finding hope amidst grief in a broken world through biblical teachings.
I like for this weekly column to remain politics-free, but the events of this week gave me inspiration. The assassination of Charlie Kirk was a profound shock, and it has left plenty of us grieving.
Add to this week the anniversary of 9/11 and some extended family members who are dealing with recent deaths in their families, and grief has been on my mind this week. I even had a wave of grief of my own when a television episode had some father-son moments that hit me hard, even five years after my dad passed away.
What does the Bible say about grief? Plenty, but I want to highlight three things about what scripture has to say.
Think about Jesus’ reaction to the death of His friend, Lazarus. He knew that Lazarus had died, but He waited for several days so that he could bring God glory with his miraculous healing. But that didn’t mean that Jesus didn’t grieve:
When Jesus saw her [Lazarus’ sister, Mary] weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
John 11:33-36 (ESV)
Mourning isn’t weakness; it’s part of our humanity. Jesus was both fully God and fully human, and even He allowed his grief to show.
Even with the shock of this week’s events and the grief that goes on all around us every single day, we can take comfort knowing that God’s Word doesn’t gloss over sorrow.
