Good Grief
“Good grief.” I guess Charlie Brown started the phrase. He might have been referring to a pitiful looking Christmas tree, a materialistic doghouse designed by Snoopy, or a wild scheme by Peppermint Patty.
I’ve used the phrase, too. We
kick-off on the first play of the game and it is returned by our opponent for a
touchdown. They kick-off to us, we
fumble, and they return the fumble for a touchdown.
Thirty seconds have run off the clock and we are down 14-0.
Good grief!
Let me ask you this question…is grief ever good?
Jesus was on His way to see His sick friend Lazarus.
As He approached, He is greeted by an almost hysterical Martha who
explains that Lazarus has died. “If
you had only been here…,” Martha explained.
It is in this setting we read what is to be the shortest verse of
scripture in the Bible. However, its
shortness is secondary to its meaning. “Jesus
wept.”
Now did Jesus weep over the death of His friend?
Probably, though surely He knew that a miracle was about to occur. Maybe
He wept over the sadness of Martha and her disappointment in the lateness of His
arrival. In either case, we clearly
see that Jesus is touched with sadness at this moment and He weeps out of love
for a friend.
Good grief occurs when we care and as Christians we are to care like no one
else. We grieve when we see people
hurting and in pain. We grieve when
the world’s standards stand in the way of inner peace and happiness only
Christ can give. We grieve when we
are separated from someone we love very much.
We grieve…but we grieve because we care.
Jesus said, “the world will know you are mine because of your love for
each other.” There is no way to
love as Christ’s commands us to love and not grieve…tears will be shed if we
love, and it is good grief.
Jesus would look down on
To
be sure, there is great joy in being a Christian.
But along with the blessings come the consequences of loving as Christ
has commanded us to love. And one of
the consequences of such love is deep and heartbreaking grief. But it is good
grief and the love that stands behind it will change this world.
Thanks be to God for Christ, who gives us the blessings of His love and
with it the blessings of good grief!
Billy