“He was despised and rejected – a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.” (Isaiah 53:3 NLT)
The verse above, at least for me, puts all my grief and pain into a whole new frame of reference. Jesus was the only perfect human being who ever lived – perfect in every way – yet “He was despised and rejected” not only by “them,” but by US! Isaiah reminds us that “we did not care.” I’m not sure how that grabs you, but it breaks my heart. I can understand why people would despise and reject me – or you, but not Jesus!
The word translated “grief” in the verse above can also be translated “sickness or disease.” Especially since Covid 19 we are hypervigilant when it comes to sickness or disease. We wear masks and keep our distance. Why? Because we don’t want to get sick or deal with disease. I find it ironic that the only perfect, sinless, disease-free man to ever live invited our sin-sickness into His life and bore our pain and suffering for our sin on the Cross where we deserved to be.
He literally took our sin upon Himself and bore our hell so we wouldn’t have to. We don’t have the capacity to conceive of the pain and suffering Jesus bore, not only to spare us that “grief,” but to give expression to His love for us. That’s why grief is a gift, it aligns our heart and mind with the Lord’s suffering and reminds us of His great love for us that cost Him so much.
Rick Warren wrote: “Grief is, without a doubt, the most painful emotion we go through in life. It’s also the most helpful emotion. How is grief helpful to you? Grief is God’s tool for you to get through the transitions of life. If you don’t grieve your losses, you get stuck.” Without the gift of grief, we’d get stuck in our pain and heartache; if we don’t grieve our losses in healthy ways it takes its toll on us, not only emotionally, but physically as well.
Think of the people you’ve met who continually replay the loss of their loved one, lost marriage, lost job, lost ___________ (and you can fill in the blank). Loss is an essential component of life on planet earth. It is a near constant reminder that we live in a sin-sick environment that will not – cannot – get better without new life in Christ alone by faith alone.
You’ve likely heard or perhaps said: “Why is God doing this to me? Why is He allowing this heartache, pain, grief, tragedy? If He loves me so much, why is He allowing all this suffering?” What we fail to realize is that without His grace and sustaining presence we’d be unable to bear the consequences of our own sin, not only in death, but in life. Suffering is a result of sin, in which we all participate.
Grief is a gift because it gives us glimpses into the heart of our loving Savior. There’s a sense in which the greater the love we have for a person, the greater our grief when they die. Each heartache, each moment of agony of spirit gives us insight into the heart of God as He grieves our lostness. The agony of heart and spirit for our lost loved ones isn’t comparable to the grief God experiences.
Think about it. What if your child gave their life to save another, but rather than gratitude and expressions of appreciation, they took credit for their own rescue. That’s essentially what we do when we fail to take into consideration the unfathomable price the Lord Jesus paid for our salvation. Grief, in whatever form it comes, gives us insight into how much we’re loved and cherished by our Father.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 