Deep Joy and Deep Grief
Deep joy and deep grief.
I think these are two of the great experiences of a mature Christian life.
Joy, because we’ve been brought from death to life, given hope in place of despair, and reconciled to a Father who came after us when we chose to be orphans.
Grief, because we live in a constant state of groaning alongside creation, seeing and feeling the brokenness around us, truly hurt by the pain of others.
To follow Jesus means we will experience both. Jesus experienced true joy (Luke 10:21), but He was also “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). If Jesus is the Perfect Human, then our growth into His image will mean a progressive experience of the things He felt.
If we really think following Jesus will give us an always-happy and easy life, then maybe the Jesus we are looking to follow is not the Jesus of the Bible but a projection of our own desire for ease and comfort.
Joy and grief—both are part of following the Lord.
Grief without joy is despair. Yet joy without grief is ignorance. If a Christian is not hurt by the pain and lostness of others, are we really reflecting the One who weeped over a lost Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44)? Joy and grief together is the right response of a man on a cross, knowing resurrection is coming but not dismissing the nails that pierce hands today.
One day, the Father will do away with grief, so much so that joy itself will overcome it. The Christian’s grief will somehow die and be resurrected into something new, something redeemed, something that somehow makes all suffering worth it in the end.
This present grief is a type of death; this present joy, a foretaste of a future life.
Resurrection is coming. Our desire for Ultimate Joy points to a promised future that changes entirely how we view and live in the present.
Deep joy and deep grief—the experience of a born-again people carrying their crosses, waiting for Resurrection.
For joy to overcome grief.
“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!’”
Revelation 21:4-5
