“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” (1st Thess. 4:13)
The fact of faith, trusting in the promises that are given to us in the Word of God, living our lives in obedience because of a love for Him who first loved us. Hoping in that which we now see only as through a glass darkly, living in and for that which we believe will one day be.
There is no hope such as those who have been born-again amongst anyone else on this planet, the hope we have cannot be obtained without faith in the promises of the Scriptures first, without unswerving trust that the Word of God is from the Almighty.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)
When one who is not saved by the grace of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is placed before us who has suffered the loss of a loved one, we grieve with them, but all we can do is console them, the hope we know does not rest in them.
It is a fine line that must be balanced upon at that time, if the one they loved did not know the Lord Jesus Christ, then that person died in their sins and went to hell, and that would probably be the last thing you would want to mention to them in their time of grief.
Have you ever noticed how the wicked, when one they cherished dies, will call upon the pastor of some church to say some words over them as they are lowered in the grave? A false hope to those who have been left behind is better than no hope at all.
“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2nd Tim. 1:12)
The best the world has to offer is, “Time heals all wounds,” and in a way this is true, for memories fade as time passes, the world keeps moving and we move with it, grieving rarely lasts an entire lifetime. We who are hid in Christ need time after one of our brothers or sisters in Christ goes home to glory, but you must remember this truth, and only those who have truly been born-again will understand these words and accept them as truth, your grieving in that time is strictly personal, strictly self-centered.
“Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28)
We do not grieve like the wicked do, not even close.
Here is hope, here is one of the byproducts, if you will, one of the graces of faith, we know where we are going the moment after we take our last breath here, and we live in the anticipation of that hope. These truths you must have firmly planted in your mind, there must be no doubts, and you must do all that you can to place that same assurance in all those you know who have also been born-again.
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1st Cor. 15:55)
Our grieving, my friends, is solely self-centered, purely a personal loss of temporary closeness, and even a few short decades of the loss of their presence cannot be compared to an eternity of being with them again.
We do not grieve as they do, and they will never know the hope we have, the hope that cannot be removed from us, unless they repent and call upon the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of their soul.
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:28)
Hope because of faith in the promises of the Word of God is the message we offer to the wicked as they grieve, there is no other hope available. If they are chosen by the Almighty as one of His own, then in time they will come to the realization of the truth that the one they loved and lost, the one who died in their sins will know hopelessness for all eternity, just as you have known some.
Grieve with them in a manner that leads them to the cross of Christ.
