Christian Hope Doesn’t Exclude Mourning, It Encourages It
We will all die, eventually. Yet we have hope. We do not mourn without hope. And even though it is hard, the invitation is always open. “Come to me,” Jesus calls. Cast your burdens to him and he will work wonders in your life, even in the face of death.
Death is one of those things that we don’t prepare for. Sometimes we have tragic accidents that no one expected and other times we have incidents where someone was sick and they die. In both instances, death is painful. When I heard that one of my cousins was involved in a tragic accident and died, I was hurt by the news. I asked myself: “Why?” To be more specific, I asked God: “Why did this happen?” Mourning is inevitable in the face of death.
One thing that we cannot deny, is that death is a part of living. We are all going to die. Whether rich or poor, male or female, old or young, we will all eventually die. But sometimes we think we are going to live forever. So we’re surprised when we hear that someone we knew is dead. It’s shocking. Only it shouldn’t be. That being said, how should we face death? What does God say to those who mourn?
Mourn with Hope
When I attended the memorial service of my cousin who passed away, there were mixed feelings as to what should happen. Some insisted: ‘do not cry.’ Others urged tears. I was confused as to what I should do. Some cultures see crying as a sign of weakness. When death comes, they insist, we need to be strong.
Paul is helpful on this, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14. As believers, we need to mourn rightly because we know who is in control. We don’t mourn as people without hope. Our hope is in Jesus Christ who died and rose again. We can know that when we die, we will live again. This is the Christian hope.
Ask Questions
The first thing I asked when I heard that my cousin died was: “why him?” We ask God why he did not do anything to prevent the accident. We want God to answer us because deep down we know that he knows all things. In such situations, we want answers.
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The Sermon on the Mount Is Not an Impossible Standard to Make Us Feel Bad
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Difficult Bible Passages: Nehemiah 13:25
It is the first half of verse 25 of course that so many folks – including too many Christians – would find all rather shocking and unacceptable: “And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair”. The truth is, if Nehemiah was with us today and did something like this, I suspect that most Christians would say he is unloving and unChristlike, and even seek to have him arrested!
As is often the case in this irregular series, the text under question is not so much difficult to understand as it is perplexing and puzzling to many modern readers. Because so many Christians today are far more influenced by the surrounding pagan culture than they are the truth of God’s word, a passage like this will easily bother them and upset them. Yet it is they that need to change – not the biblical text.
Let me present the wider context of the verse (Neh. 13:23-31):
In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”
And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.
It is the first half of verse 25 of course that so many folks – including too many Christians – would find all rather shocking and unacceptable: “And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair”. The truth is, if Nehemiah was with us today and did something like this, I suspect that most Christians would say he is unloving and unChristlike, and even seek to have him arrested!
They are so filled with the spirit of the age, and so steeped in fake tolerance and unbiblical notions of love, that they would be utterly appalled at this sort of behaviour. Of course these same Christians would likely also be just as appalled at the behaviour of Jesus when he deliberately formed a whip, went to the temple and started flipping tables over while berating those who were there.
In both cases lots of contemporary believers would argue that such behaviour is just not acceptable – nor Christike! But the reason for this is rather straightforward: Western Christians today have so lost sight of who God is, how holy he is, how horrible sin is, and how far we have walked away from God, that they cannot see that the things Nehemiah and Jesus did were perfectly acceptable – and fully necessary.
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Too Busy to Read? Read More, Not Less
There is value in reading for sustained periods of time, and we should all be reading more like this, but in the midst of busyness, take 15 minutes instead. I find reading essential to the quality of life. While being busy may detract from that quality, reading adds to it. Therefore, don’t read to be busy but rather read because you are busy.
Ask someone why they don’t read, and the likely answer you will receive is a variation of, “I am too busy” or “I don’t have the time.” I don’t appreciate that answer. I certainly understand it, but I still do not like it because the answer implies that reading merely adds to the busyness of already hectic lives. My perspective is different; I would say reading done well does not increase busyness but instead decreases it.
Now, because you’re a reader, you appreciate authors who utilize logic and order to convey arguments. Therefore, you know that the last paragraph is irrational. I’ll admit that, but I’ll stand behind a critical principle: reading neutralizes (or at least stabilizes) busy lives. Therefore, the answer to busyness is not to read less but to read more.
Reading Encourages Relaxation
There is a reason that so many people utilize reading as a tool for relaxation. A busy lifestyle is not often characterized by excessive activity only. Instead, it is also associated with additional aspects such as stress, tension, and anxiety. Reading offers a reprieve, an opportunity to disengage.
Long-term stress and anxiety are unhealthy, often leaving residual effects for the long-term if they continue at sustained levels. By instilling habits of reading into our lives, we create natural breaks to the busyness and thus the unhealthy effects of it. Hence the need to read more, not less.
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