Posted on by sherryrickard

Jesus Wept…Why?

Jesus wept.  Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!  John 11:35-36 KJV

I have read these words many times and I have contemplated their meaning many times.  These verses spoke to my heart when my husband passed away.  They reminded me, then, that Jesus knows sadness and what loss feels like.

Recently, I’ve had another loss.  My dad passed away.  The grief I have experienced is very different than the grief I experienced with my husband’s death.  Both losses have made my heart hurt.

I have had to come to the realization this week that our family cat, Brandon, is nearing the end of his life.  He is 18 years old and is very sick.  My heart is so heavy at having to say goodbye to him.  The grief I’m feeling at the thought of this goodbye makes my heart hurt too.

I was thinking about these verses and praying about them and another point of view came into my heart.  Death hurts so much here because of the separation.  We are separated from the love that has passed away.  We hurt because, to attain that separation, there is a tearing of the soul, away from our love.  We are no longer able to communicate with them as we once did.  We cannot reach out and touch them, call them and hear their voice, or lay our head on their chest and hear their heart beating.

As a Christian, I know that I will see my husband and my dad again.  They will be healthy, happy, and glad to see me because it hasn’t even been one day for them.

It occurred to me that when we experience the death of someone or something that we love, we experience a shade of the separation that God must feel when we sin and we deserve death.  That pains him.  It is a sharp pain.  It takes the breath out of Him and hurts in every part of His being.  It hurt Him so much that He couldn’t take it anymore.  He, out of desperation and despair at the separation, sacrificed His Son so that the separation would end and He would never have to be away from me/us again.

How did Jesus react when his friend passed away?  He wept.  His eyes welled with painful, stinging tears and His heart hurt.  He hated the separation that death brings and represents more than we do.  He was heavily grieved by the fact that sin causes death.  The next verse says, “Behold how he loved him”.  Little did they know how much He loved him/all of us and the lengths Jesus would go to show His love for him/all of us as He endured the cross and death by crucifixion.

I think Jesus weeps with us in our valleys and walks beside us.  We just have to keep our eyes on Him as we walk so we can remember how much He loves us.  Scripture says one day he will wipe every tear from our eyes and there will be no more sorrow.  Death is a temporary separation for the believer.

So, as I enter another valley, I am comforted by the fact that Jesus knows my tears and how much I love that which I have lost.  I am also aware that Jesus, my loving Savior, has made the ultimate sacrifice so that I will never know what a permanent separation feels like.  Because of Jesus, I will never know the pain of grieving without Hope.  I just have to keep my eyes on my Savior and walk with Him out of this valley to the next mountaintop.

Get your shoes on and walk with me.

 

33 Replies to “Jesus Wept…Why?”

  1. Sherry this is such a well written post, we recently lost our youngest son and the pain has been pretty much unbearable, but you reminded us how we must handle it…God will never forsake us and knows exactly what we are going thru…we have two sons and a grandson in Heaven waiting for us,.. and I know now it’s been a short wait for them. Of course we have many other relatives to see too…I say come Jesus, come quickly and soon. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with all of us…..

    1. Ms. Jane,
      My heart aches for you at your losses – I’m so sorry you have been asked to walk this path. Know that God has sent and will continue to send Saints to walk with you along the way and cheer you on. We will have so much to share when we have our grand Heaven reunion with our loved ones! I can’t wait!

  3. This is so true Sherry ,Lost my wife to cancer 8 years and that really shut me down for a very long time and during that time I was given a Bible by my Aunty as a gift to keep me company when I’m lonely she said and that changed my life complety ,Jesus changed my life and helped through those trying period and I also started a Baptist Church and started going to fellowship and that’s how my journey at becoming a new man started so thanks for really sharing this

    1. Praise God for Saints that meet us on our journey. I’m so glad that your Aunty encouraged you with the only thing that will sustain us- God’s Word! I’m glad you are plugged into a local church family, staying in the Word and walking with Christ on your journey. I’ll be praying for you and asking God’s blessings on you.

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