I am the ressurection and the Life
“I am the Resurrection & the Life”
Bereavement can be physically, emotionally, spiritually challenging and draining, especially if you do not have faith that is rooted in the hope of the resurrected life of Jesus Christ. Bereavement impacts us in so many, different ways. For many, the former certainty of waking up every day and achieving all the things they planned to do now becomes uncertain.
In the valley experience of bereavement, we are called to:
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” Romans 12 v 15
How do we rejoice?
We celebrate in remembrance, the virtuous lives of those who lived for Jesus Christ and who have passed through death from this physical life into eternity, knowing that their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, has settled the destiny of their souls. Peter the Apostle instructed us that:
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1 v 3 – 8
Our Father God wants us to celebrate those who have grown spiritually and have known Him intimately during the lifestyle of their lifetime in this earthly realm.
Peter the Apostle, went on to say:
“Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble, and you will receive a lavish reception into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1 v 10 – 11
The death of a loved one is a time to celebrate their live and their legacy, but it also produces times of reflection for those of us who remain. For the prodigal it is a time to stop, to examine the condition of the soil management of their hearts, and to turn back to God, the Father. The prophet Hosea said:
I said “Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plough up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that He may come and shower righteousness upon you.” Hosea 10 v 12
Turn and return! Our Father God is waiting for you!
Concerning our earthly lives, the Apostle John said:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much grain.” John 12 v 24
Physical death creates great opportunities for a bountiful crop of evangelism. It creates an environment to introduce Jesus Christ to those who do not know Him and to encourage those on their journey of faith to pursuing Him wholeheartedly. Like the Apostle Paul, we should be encouraged again that the reason why we live is based on our passion for Jesus Christ. He said:
“I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3 v 10 – 11
He set out his lifelong goals:
- To know Christ and not just about Christ
- To have fellowship with Christ
- To know and experience the power of Christ for himself
- To be conformed to Christ i.e. to be Christlike
- To experience the promise of resurrected life for himself
He set out the objectives or specific actions he would actively take to achieve his personal goals. He would:
- Not dwell on past failures
- Live his life only looking forward
- Focus on Jesus Christ
- Focus on his assignments and his future reward
- Focus on his eternal heavenly destiny
The Apostle Paul said:
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press onto take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3 v 12 – 14
Speaking of the journey of the lifestyle of the believer, the Apostle Paul went on to say:
“All of us who are mature should embrace this point in view. And if you think differently about some issue God will reveal this to you as well. Nevertheless, we must live up to what we have already attained.” Philippians 3 v 15 – 16
The death of a loved one also produces times of reflections for those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord and are challenged to consider the brevity of their own lives. Physical death creates opportunities to be labourers in the vineyard of life as hurting people suddenly present themselves to you wanting to hear words of reassurance and hope. It is an opportunity for them to be the recipients of hearing, experiencing, and responding in faith to the resurrected life of Jesus Christ. Don’t worry about what you will say because the Apostle Paul reminds us:
“But what does it say? “The Word is near you, it is in you mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus Christ is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved” Romans 10 v 8 – 10
It is at this point that we become like workers in the vineyard of life to those who are broken hearted and discouraged through bereavement. We bring our Father God’s message of hope through the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. Do not leave the responsibility or assume that someone else will console your family, relatives, friends, or colleagues with these words. You do it!
The Apostle Paul asked a series of questions, to which we can all choose to add our names as being part of the solution. He asked:
“How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10 v 14 – 15
Our Father God’s Spirit is not confined within the walls of a church building. His Holy Spirit lives within us and goes everywhere we go. So, when we are with our bereaved families, relatives, friends, and colleagues we can bring them the good news of salvation through the resurrected life of Jesus Christ in their homes, our homes, their workplaces and any other environment where our Father God appoints a time for us to speak His life into the darkness of their bereaved lives.
The Apostle Peter said:
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light.” 1 Peter 2 v 9
Our Father God has called each and everyone of us to be His spokesperson in sharing the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ to those who are hurting. Speaking the truth of His resurrected life to those who have never heard it and to those who need reminding that He is the balm in Gilead who soothes and heals the broken hearted. Thanking Him and praising Him for this freewill gift, invites His presence and His peace into the lives of the bereaved.
How do we weep?
We may be good at rejoicing and celebrating with those who rejoice in the mountain top experiences of life but not so effective at weeping with those who weep in their valley experiences.
When the daughter of the synagogue leader Jairus died, Jesus Christ said to him:
“Do not be afraid; just believe.” Mark 5 v 36
In our bereaved distress Jesus Christ still wants us to exchange our fear with trusting Him with our future and with His faith for the present. He wants to minister to the hearts of those that are hurting right now! He wants us to believe in Him and the power entrusted to Him by our Heavenly Father.
This is what the Apostle Mark recorded:
“When they arrived at the house of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw the commotion and the people weeping and wailing loudly.” Mark 5 v 38
Everyone was crying but no one was effectively helping. It was just as Jesus described – a noisy commotion. When we weep with others we should not add to their pain by adding our sorrow to their sorrow. That does not mean that we do not empathise with them. After all, the shortest scripture in the Bible stated:
“Jesus wept.” John 11 v 35
Even though Jesus Christ held divine power, even though He was the Alpha and the Omega and knew all things and was surprised by nothing – He wept. Why did Jesus Christ weep? He did not weep for Himself. Nor did he weep for the loss of His friend Lazarus, because He knew that He was going to call him by name back from the grave. He wept because He had compassion on those who were left behind mourning in their brokenness. Jesus Christ came and experienced every emotion that we would ever feel. Although divine, He identified and aligned His heart with those who were broken. He met them at their point of need and had compassion on them.
Mary and Martha were not yet to know that Jesus Christ would raise Lazarus from the dead, and yet they expressed a measure of faith. Martha said in response to being questioned by Jesus Christ about Lazarus:
“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes Lord,” she answered. “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” John 11 v 24 – 27
This is the great and promised truth of the resurrection for us all.
As we weep with those who weep, we should follow the example of Jesus Christ. He was present but He also went beyond the tears of condolence.
- He changed the focus of Martha’s ‘why?’ questions with faith questions of His own.
- He changed Martha’s focus from death to eternal life.
- He changed Martha’s focus from frustration to faith.
- He changed the focus of Martha’s attitude from bitterness to gratitude.
- He changed the focus of Martha’s heart from turmoil to peace.
- He challenged the confession of Martha’s mouth from earthly negativity to heavenly positivity.
- He changed the focus of Martha’s despair to believe and keep on believing in His divine promises.
- He changed the focus of Martha’s outlook from hopelessness to hope for the future.
Let us go and do the same.
Amen xxx