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Monday's Mourning Ministry
Exactly What Did Jesus Do For Us?
"Grieving Like Christians"
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Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)
~Casting Crowns
The following essay I had posted on 2/22/11, but today, the day after Easter as we continue to celebrate Christ's resurrection, I felt this essay would be a nice reminder of where grief fits in for a Christian, that even though we KNOW Christ conquered death, and God resurrects life, and that for these gifts we are forever grateful, there is still a place for grieving for our loved one while we are here on earth, ripped apart from one another for this while.
Grieving Like a Christian
We have had two losses among our Christian friends and acquaintances recently. One was a teenage boy who drowned while canoeing, leaving his recently widowed mother and six siblings. Another was a thirty-four year-old mother of two young children who died after a long battle with cancer. Losses like these leave us saddened, stunned, and sometimes even angry. As Christians, though, we can face death and suffering without despair, for our hope is in Jesus Christ, the Giver of Life, the Conqueror of Death.
Yet it seems that Christians sometimes think that if we outwardly show the sorrows we feel, we are somehow demonstrating a lack of faith. In order to honor God, we reason, we must accept His frowning providences without even a flinch, like an abused boy accepts his whippings. This stoicism can become a mere exercise of will, so that what appears to be piety and faith is actually a work of prideful flesh.
God loves life and hates death. He is sovereign over death, and He ordains it, yet He made the ultimate sacrifice--Himself--to secure its ultimate destruction. If we love Him, we should love what He loves and hate what He hates. When we love life, we mourn the loss of it. When we hate death, we are angered by its destructive force.
Grieving like a Christian does not mean we do not grieve. It means we grieve without despair. We crawl into our Father's lap and lay our tear-stained cheeks on His shoulder, and trust that what He ordains is always right, will always work out well in the end, and that all our losses will one day be restored to us. It is running to Him and asking, "Tell me again the story of what You have done and what You will do to destroy this enemy." It is going to Him and asking for the strength and comfort we need to face the new reality of our temporary, mortal lives--a reality without someone we have grown to love, without someone we are used to having as a part of our lives and perhaps mistakenly assumed would always be there. It is knowing that although there is loss, all is not lost.
God does not tell us we will not have sorrows. He tells us that He will be our comfort in sorrow. He does not tell us we will not have tears. He tells us He will be there with us to wipe our tears away. He does not tell us there will not be times to mourn. He tells us that on the other side of that mourning is the promise of joy indescribable.
~Dory, wife and mother, and principal of a classical Christian school
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Casting Crowns was one of the first of Merry Katherine's favorite Christian bands in her high school years. Her church youth group often used Casting Crowns' music for their worship time at Sunday School, on retreats, and at their summer camps. The song by Casting Crowns for today's post is a re-make of a hymn that gives a great summary of exactly what Jesus Christ did for us when He came to earth, witnessed to people about His Father~the Living God, then later was killed, buried, raised from the dead, then appeared to many people, and later ascended back to Heaven. He also will come back for us, for all those of us who love Him and trust Him to be our Savior. His death and resurrection effectively conquer eternal death ensure ultimate resurrection for each person who repents of his/her sins and shortcomings and who believes by faith in Jesus as his/her Savior. Each of these actions in Jesus' life provides for us to be saved for all eternity, and thus to be with Him in Heaven as fellow "brothers" and "sisters" in God's family. Casting Crowns has the reputation of sharing such important Biblical truths through music that appeals to young people. I know all three of my children enjoyed them, so I am so very grateful for their ministry.
Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)
~Casting Crowns
Easter Crucifixion Resurrection Video
One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed
Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day
One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me
Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He’s ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again
Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day
Glorious day
One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing
My Savior, Jesus, is mine
Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day
Glorious day
O Glorious day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTBnCCreO5M&feature=player_embedded
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