Grief

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” -- and I am the worst of them all.

    - St. Paul, 1 Timothy 1:15  (NLT)

"Grief is like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly -- it still hurts when the weather turns cold -- but you learn to dance with a limp."

- Anne Lamont

This morning my heart is especially heavy for a dear friend who lost his young son in a tragic accident… several years ago.

The sad anniversary of his death opened up the wound and grief rained down upon him again like a Spring thunderstorm. Looking at me he said, "Man, I thought I was moving forward… I don't know if my heart will ever heal." "Friend," I whispered, "It won't… your heart won't ever completely heal. That loss, that wound, that grief will always be with you… he was your only son."

Listen… Today, if you’re wondering why you have not moved beyond some heartbreak, or some loss, or some tragedy in your life…

Let me offer you some helpful guidance from one who learned how to live with grief in a way that it did not paralyze his life – but it deepened his life.

That person is the Apostle Paul. Paul's mission, before he encountered Jesus on the Damascus Road, was to arrest, imprison, and persecute followers of Jesus. Paul wrecked the lives, homes, and families of a lot of good people. It was a horrific tragedy he committed, and even after the grace and mercy of God transformed his life from a persecutor of Jesus to a follower of Jesus… he never forgot it… he never minimized it… he never got over it.

In 1 Corinthians 15:9, Paul said,

"For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God's church."

- 1 Corinthians 15:9 (NLT)

The tragedy was so horrible that he never stopped talking about it… he never stopped thinking about it… he never stopped taking it into account… it never stopped playing an emotional role in his life… he never got beyond it. Hey… grief and loss are not a disease that heals. They are an amputation that produces a lifelong limp. It is not a wound that heals but a disability to bear.

Don't let anyone tell you that time heals all wounds. That's a total lie! Time only makes those wounds feel normal. Like scar tissue, they remind us of something we should not/cannot forget.

What did Paul call himself? "The least of all the apostles." So, how does "the least of all the apostles" become the greatest apostle of the Christian church? Paul received the supernatural grace and mercy of God every day that enabled him to live with the grief and the wrong and the loss he had experienced in such a way that it did not paralyze his life… but it deepened his life.

Listen to his heart in 1 Timothy:

"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” -- and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of His great patience with even the worst sinners. Then, others will realize that they, too, can believe in Him and receive eternal life.

- 1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NLT)

If you got up this morning -- after what you've been through -- I'm proud of you! And so is Jesus! I'm not going to tell you that Jesus can help you… although He can and already has… or you wouldn't be here. I'm not going to tell you that He can use your grief to help others who are about to give up on life… although He can.

What I am going to tell you is that Jesus knows your sadness! He knows your loss… and He's right beside you right now because He loves you! Say, "Hello Jesus"... and He will answer you!

AMEN.

Pastor Harry

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