GRIEF: GOD'S WAY OF HEALING THE HEART 
Part II

by James White

This is lovingly dedicated to the memory of Autumn Dawn Middleton.  She lived only a short while on this earth, but in that brief time she brought joy into the lives of so many, including, especially, her grandpa Mike Middleton, for whom also this is written.

Christians Grieve, Too

My friend Mike enters into grief as a Christian.  There is no promise in Scripture that says that a believer will be spared these kinds of tragedies-none at all.  The promise is that God will be with those who mourn, not that He will keep them from such things.  But what will it mean to Mike that he goes into this process believing that Jesus Christ died and rose again?  How will this impact his grief? 

Sadly, some Christians think that they should not grieve.  "My loved one is in a better place, so why should I grieve?" Yes, your loved one may well be in a better place, but you have lost an important part of your life, and that causes mourning and grief.  We miss that person, and the love we shared.  Being a Christian does not remove your human feelings from you.  You will grieve that loss, just like every other human being. 

So what is the difference?  The apostle Paul summed up the difference very well when he wrote to the Thessalonians about their loved ones who had died:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)

Some might misunderstand the import of Paul's words and understand him to be saying that Christians should not grieve.  That is not his point.  He says that Christians should not grieve "as do the rest who have no hope." It is not grief that Paul says the believer should not experience: it is grief without hope.  That is the key difference. 

Christians grieve, just like all other human beings.  But the major and all-important difference is that Christians grieve in hope.  They live in hope of the resurrection of the dead, made a surety in their experience by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  They live in hope of His redemption, His return, His glory.  They grieve knowing the truth of

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