Light Fare

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

Believe it or not, one of the highlights of my Christian life was attending the funeral of an African-American friend named Julia. Before I became a pastor, I was a financial planner, and Julia was one of my clients. She had a deep faith in Jesus Christ, which was reflected in every area of her life. I loved meeting with Julia, because we talked more about Jesus than we ever did about money and finances. Over the last six months of her battle with cancer, I had the privilege of meeting and praying with her several times. I was a new Christian and I had never seen this type of faith before. Nothing that the doctors or the disease threw at her seemed to shake her faith in God. Most of the time, Julia was the one doing the encouraging! After she died, I was invited to her funeral, and was honored to attend. I was the only Caucasian in a very large African-American church, and yet I never once felt out of place. As the service began, I experienced a peace and joy that is almost indescribable. For almost two hours, I sat there as her friends and family celebrated both her life and her faith in God. I walked into that funeral with a heavy heart of sorrow and grief, but I walked out of that funeral with an unspeakable joy. On the way home I was overwhelmed by a sense of the goodness and the grace of God! When I look back on that moment of time, I can’t help but think about what Jesus said,

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matt. 5:4).

Although it goes against everything we try to convince ourselves of, as human beings we actually need times of mourning in our lives. In order to truly appreciate all that we have been given in this life by God, we actually need times of loss and pain, times when we wonder how we’re going to be able to hang on. It is these deep feelings of sorrow which lead to mourning, that force us to get serious about the situation we’re facing. When we mourn, it reveals that we honestly and truly care in a deep way. Let me give you a couple of illustrations.

I remember watching a Detroit Lions football game when one of their offensive linemen got hurt. A hush fell over the crowd when it became obvious that he wasn’t moving, and likely had no feeling in his body. Suddenly, thousands of people realized that the person they were watching being attended to by medical personnel might very well be paralyzed for the rest of his life. Something changed as he was wheeled out on a cart with his head fastened down so his neck wouldn’t move. All of a sudden, the outcome of the game didn’t seem that important.

Here’s another example. Which is more meaningful: if someone comes to a party celebrating your recent promotion at work, or if they show up at a gathering to help comfort you because you’re grieving the loss of a close family member? Although professional advancement is exciting and provides a great opportunity to celebrate with your close friends, it is during times of painful loss that you really discover those on whom you can depend.

There’s something about the mourning process that cuts through the trivial things of life and focuses our hearts and minds on what is really important. Although my friend Julia suffered physically in her final days, she soared in her spirit as she turned to God for strength. The way she found such deep comfort in Christ under such painful circumstances was a profound reminder to those of us who knew her, that, no matter how difficult our physical circumstances might be, they don’t change God’s ability to keep His promises to His children. Promises like these:

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."– Heb. 13:5

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." – Isa. 40:29–31

Sometimes it is when we are the most weary, the most tired, and the most heartbroken that God becomes the most real! And as hard as it is for those of us who are obsessed with personal comfort to comprehend, at Julia’s funeral it was the painful loss of a beloved sister in Christ that provided the opportunity to experience God’s faithfulness in such a meaningful way. It was literally as we mourned our loss, that we began to experience God’s blessings in a deeper way. And this leads us back to one of the most profound and important paradoxes in the Bible. It is when we mourn and face death that we find the true blessings and joy of life.

For a more in-depth treatment of this topic, see my book entitled "The Cure-prescription for life",  available on my website: www.stevebyrens.com  - Also available on Amazon and Barnes and Nobles websites