by Garry Spotts

Created on: August 13, 2009   Last Updated: August 18, 2009

Mourning and grief are natural to the human creature. We are created with the capacity to experience the sadness of separation and the pain of absence from a loved one. Our capacity to mourn is not a defect of sin, it is rooted in the divine design to love. We read in Psalm 139:14, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." The explicit truth is that we are created by design and the design includes the renewing capacity to mourn and to grieve.

Jesus' Compassion and Grief

As disciples of Jesus Christ we are called to emulate his model of living. We are encouraged by his demonstration of faith as he interacted with the people of his time. Jesus lived and ministered to people who were caught in a perpetual trap of pain because of illness, physical infirmity, sin-guilt and demonic oppression.

We read that Jesus was moved with compassion on many occasions, most notably in Matthew 9:36 which records, "But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd."Jesus' compassionate ministry to the suffering was rooted in his ability to connect with the reality of their pain.

The word, "Compassion" is derived from two Latin words, "Cum" meaning "with," and "Passio" meaning "I suffer". Jesus therefore, suffered with those he encountered. One might say that Jesus grieved or mourned for those he ministered to, so that he might fully comprehend the burden of their pain.

Jesus, our model demonstrated in vivid detail that his followers should not avoid their natural and God-given capacity and desire to mourn the death of a loved one. We find Jesus in John 11:33-36 moved with compassion for Mary, the sister of his now dead friend, Lazarus. The Bible records, "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!" King James Version

We can glean from this instance in the life and ministry of Jesus that we are free to express emotion, grieve and mourn the death of those we love without fear of hypocrisy.

Sorrow and Hope

We find further evidence that mourning amongst believers was an issue of concern for some in the Church. Paul writing to the Church at Thessalonica addressed the issue of mourning in the first letter chapter 4:13. Specifically, the Scriptures record, "I would not brethren have you ignorant concerning them which are fallen asleep, that ye sorrow not as others do, which have no hope." To paraphrase Paul, he says "don't mourn in the same way unbelievers mourn because they do not have hope of resurrection."

His statement alone suggests that mourning is not an issue for Christians, it is a part of our human nature to mourn. What we hear the scriptures instructing us to do is to mourn because it is natural to all human beings, yet do not mourn like someone who believes that death is the ultimate end.

We are free to weep at the passing of loved ones and simultaneously remain hopeful and confident in the promise of Christ that he is, "the resurrection and the life." We weep because we are moved like Jesus was moved in John 11, with compassion for our loved ones. He wept at the tomb of a beloved friend, and we are released by his example to mourn those we love.

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