Early on today I received a message that a dear friend was on the verge of losing her mother, due to a devastating stroke. That is a hard pill to swallow for most anyone. This mom is funny, she is spontaneous and joyful, she is thoughtful and kind. Even though I haven’t spent time with her or the rest of the family since they moved out of state years ago, just the thought of her puts a smile on my face. I think most of us can relate to that scenario, when a someone you care about is quickly slipping away, it is sorrowful. The exceptionally sad part of this story, and the news that brought familiar tears streaming down my face is that this family just lost their dad a few weeks ago to cancer.
It’s hard to see sweet loving people suffer. Good people. Godly people. Generous, charitable people. It really is. Nearly 5 years have passed now since my siblings and I lost our parents just 2 short months apart from one another and yet the sting of that sorrow is with me in an instant.
What does the Bible say about sorrow? That we will experience it. That we can’t really escape it while we’re here on this earth. That it will be wiped away in heaven.
Paul experienced it. David, Solomon, the prophets all wrote about it. And sorrow brought Jesus to the point of exhaustion and near death.
It hurts. It is heavy and difficult. Christ followers are not immune and neither are those who don’t follow Christ. But if there is anything to be gained from sorrow it is written in 2 Corinthians 7:10.
My personal experience with the life changing opportunity with sorrow is to see someone like my dad stand up for the first time and speak about his faith in Christ publicly after the loss of a family friend. It was a godly sorrow that brought repentance. It was a “wake up call” that life is short and an abrupt reminder that this life will end and eternity will begin when we least expect. Some times we need to face that truth head on before we are ready to face our own mortality and begin to question life after death.
The news that we all need to hear is that Jesus willingly bore all of the sorrow of sin and death so that we could one day be joined with Him forever, in a place where sorrow doesn’t exist.
The very thought that people are missing this truth and their opportunity to know and commit their life to Jesus like my dad did brings me godly sorrow and a renewed commitment to do what I can to share Jesus with all who will listen.
I am sad for the loss this family is experiencing today. And at the same time I’m so very thankful that I will spend eternity with them, because we all belong to Jesus.
I do pray that this sorrow brings repentance and salvation to someone. And if so this family would have no regrets in their sorrow, the Lord would indeed turn their sadness into joy.