Comforted of God
Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints (Psalm 116:15).
When Jacob thought Joseph had died, the Bible says, “He refused to be comforted.” He found the loss unbearable. Whatever the circumstances, whether naturally, or early and unexpected, the sorrow we feel when a loved one dies, is intense. At the same time, we understand the reality of the love we experience as husband and wife, parent and child, brother and sister, and as friends. We learn how precious we are to each other.
As Christians, we are not spared the harsh realities of life or the situations we find so hard to bear. Grief is a process we need to go through alone, but that we share with those enduring the same sorrow. It was such sorrow that brought Martha and Mary into the presence of the Saviour in John 12 when their brother Lazarus died.
The reality of Psalm 116:15 is seen when the Lord of life wept over the death of Lazarus. God’s love for us does not exempt us from the tears, death, sorrow, crying, or pain, which are part of the world we live in. But His love is known in those circumstances when we face the reality of death. Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” And He also asked her, “Do you believe this?” Like Martha, we can respond with the words of faith and say, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (John 11:25-27). But it is not only what the Lord said, but what He did that brings comfort to our hearts. He began His public ministry by saying He was sent “to heal the broken-hearted” (Luke 4:18). How did Jesus do this? On what basis does Heaven say, “God Himself will … be their God and … will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). The foundation of these promises and the comfort they give is the Person and work of Jesus Christ. He was broken-hearted, wept, endured rejection, pain, suffering and death – the Man of Sorrows. Why was His death so painful, pitiless and cruel? So that we could understand the depth of His love for us.
God tells us the death of His children is precious in His sight. The preciousness of the death of His Son is the foundation of eternal blessing. In that day Jesus will take away tears, death, sorrow, crying and pain. We will be gathered as one great company to be with the Lord and united by Him in an eternal fellowship of love: “so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17, AV). Death separates now, but will not then. When death touches our lives, we rightly sorrow and mourn. Why do we do this? Because we love. Sorrow teaches us what love is. Jesus responded to Mary in the loss of her brother, not by telling her He was the resurrection and life, but by the tears He shed, and everyone saw how much the Lord loved His friend: “See how He loved him!” (John 11:36). This love comforts us in our sorrow and assures us death is not the end but the means through which we pass into the fullness of life. This is what we believe. We are comforted by God and empowered to be a comfort to others, because “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort … 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” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
