13Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, New International Version (NIV)).
Although we may know Christ Jesus as our savior and Lord, that will not make us immune from the tragedies of this world, including experiencing the death of a loved one. Ironically, as I submit this writing, today is the sixteenth anniversary of my father’s passing. When someone passes away who knew the Lord, there is a rush to proclaim, “absent from the body, present with the Lord”, “precious in the sight of the Lord are the death of his saints.” To be clear, these are appropriate scriptural sayings but death still brings a void.
The truth of the matter is, we never really get over the death of a loved one. Accept the reality that you will never see your loved one on this earth again. Allow yourself to experience the pain and sorrow of grief. However, do recognize that it will not always hurt and the grieving season will end. If your loved one died in a relationship with the Lord, and you also have a relationship with the Lord, you most assuredly will see that person again. Please remember, while our Christian loved one has left the earth realm, they continue to live on in the presence of the Lord. When Paul says, “you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” he is really intimating, “we grieve, and we hurt, but despite that hurt, we still have hope!” Our grief is free of despair and defeat because we know Christ has conquered death. We rest in the promises of God, if we believe Him!
The death of a loved one will surely test your level of trust and faith in the risen Lord. However, no matter how much we try to remember that our loved one rests in the bosom of our Lord, it still hurts. It’s a natural process and like all wounds, it takes time to heal. During the grieving process, it is paramount to interact with spiritual leaders, friends, family, and scripture for support. Sadly, when someone dies, we, even though we may be believers in Christ, will want to shut ourselves off from everyone. Do not do this. When my father died, I continued to fellowship with believers and friends and found it very helpful to have people to talk to. If you feel overwhelmed, reach out for clinical and pastoral counseling. Some will say, “saved people should not cry over the death of a loved one who knew the Lord. This is one hundred percent wrong! Take counsel in knowing this; you have the right to grieve and don’t let anyone tell you differently. Look what Jesus did when his homeboy died. When Jesus’s friend Lazarus died, Jesus wept (John 11:34). But, this same Jesus, also said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). The question is not rhetorical, we either believe Christ or we don’t.
Elder Jerome Woods, II is the husband of Alana M. Woods and is the son of the late Jerome Woods, Sr. and Larina Woods. He is a Washington, D.C. native and associate Elder at High Calling Ministries pastored by George W. Hawkins, Jr. Elder Woods is a graduate of The George Washington University (1994) where he received his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature with minors in Sociology and Latin Classical Humanities. Elder Woods received his Juris Doctorate in 1997 from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.
