When Moses speaks of humanity’s frailty and the eternal promises and existence of God, he states, “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:10) The older we get, the harder it gets until we come face to face with our Savior. But the longer we live, the more goodbyes we say. At times, it seems like too many.
No matter how hard we try to escape it, one day in the future, we will run out of time and breathe our last breath. For the disciple of Jesus, however, that is not such a bad thing. Paul writes, “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord”. (2 Corinthians 5:8) Think about that. We will be with the Lord. That is why the Psalmist also notes, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints”. (Psalm 116:15) Have you ever considered that God is looking forward to our being with Him?
Now, one of the most challenging parts of death we must deal with in this realm is being the one left behind. It hurts. Yet, as we grieve, we must remember that the power of the resurrection is superior to any loss. Paul writes, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus”. (1 Thessalonians 4:13–14) We often need to look to heaven through our tears, remembering that God is the giver of His eternal joy in His holy presence to those who have gone on before us. No more pain, no more suffering and we will be with them again.
There is comfort to be found in Jesus during our losses and sufferings in this life, and we are to share that comfort with one another. This is one of the things that makes our church family so important. Paul writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ”. (2 Corinthians 1:3–5)
You are loved. You are family. Seek to love and comfort one another.