December 12, 2007
Grief Is Messy
READ: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. —1 Thessalonians 4:13 The film We Are Marshall tells of the November 14, 1970, plane crash that took the lives of most of the Marshall University football team, the coaching staff, and many community leaders of Huntington, West Virginia. Seventy-five lives were lost in the crash, which devastated the university and the community. Through the composite characters of Paul Griffen and Annie Cantrell, the film dramatizes the aftermath of the crash. Their stories intertwine because Griffen’s son, Chris, was Annie’s fiancé. When Chris died, their lives were plunged into a year of pain that seemed unbearable. Why? Because, as Paul told Annie, “Grief is messy.”
He was right, grief is messy. All of us grieve at one time or another—including those of us who are Christ-followers. For the believer, however, there is something beyond the tears, pain, and loss. There is hope.
Writing to a church family who had seen loved ones taken in death, Paul acknowledged the reality of grief. But he challenged them not to “sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). Loss and death are part of life, but believers can face them, knowing that Christians never say goodbye for the last time. We can comfort one another (v.18) with the hope of the resurrection and a future reunion.
A place in heaven above—
A home where we will always be
With Him and those we love. —Sper
