John 19:38-42, After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So, they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Living through traumatic, or violently painful circumstances, can be like living in the middle of some long freefall. It shakes our lives and invariably causes us to reevaluate many of our life decisions. It can be as if a canyon opened up and we have just been pushed into the descent of a lifetime. All of our life seems to swing wildly as if we might be torn in two. The apostles and other followers of Jesus must have been supremely distraught over the loss of “The One” in whose hands were their respective eternities.
To witness a loved one to suffer is an agony is beyond explanation. The living gains some relief when death finally claims the ones we love in those circumstances. Then when the relief of death subsides, we usually begin to experience the unnecessary guilt for having the emotions of the helpless people we actually are. In the end, man without God, is left hopeless and empty. We are taught from birth that life is hope and if that is where the lesson ends, death can only mean defeat and destruction for all involved.
In God’s strange dynamic, death can actually bring the faithful hope. To the Christian, what lies beyond this life is more important than what this life is offering at this moment. Some stand at the cliff’s edge of grief, and are sure that the jump will kill us. Yet for those of us who trust in The Living God, we survive the fall and somehow live to go further in this life. When death is taken to the cross of Christ, and we suffer the grief which accompanies us the whole way, we actually find resurrection and newness of life.
Death seems to take a little of us every time we endure it. And it does just that. Jesus said it best – John 12:24-25, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” If children of God lose anything as a result of death, it is meant to produce the seeds of a crop that is great and holy. Sadly, these seeds are the product of pain and sadness beyond explanation. They are the result of tears and sweat as blood. Children of God DON’T give up!
One who studies the process of grieving will learn that grief has several stages. Some might conclude the process at acceptance. But if we are living in the body of Christ, our final stage includes resurrection and the holy seeds of faith in God. Our acceptance is not that of death, but of resurrection. If you are grieving, don’t stop short of what God has planned and available for those who seek Him. It may take time, but it does come to us.
Godspeed on your journey.