A SENSE OF LOSS

 

Wednesday, January 3, 2024

 

A SENSE OF LOSS

 

John 11:25-26

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

 

Matt 5:4

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

 

          If you are willing to wait for it, you will live long enough to feel a sense of loss. When that day comes you will feel many things all at the same time. You may feel abandoned, betrayed, or diminished. Companions sometimes go away unwillingly but the emptiness remains. Abilities fail even the strongest of us and troublesome pain can’t be chased away.

 

          Jesus was a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” At the tomb of Lazarus, the heavy sense of loss challenged His role of comforter and friend. He had to remind dear friends that the reality of that which they held as truth was indeed true. He tearfully finished with “do you believe this?”

 

          Time and trouble will refine our creed into something more than a mantra. Eventually we understand that a thing either is, or it is not. This refining of a belief system is the only benefit of loss. It is when is becomes was and will becomes is.

 

          The calm that youth observe in the elderly is the result of the distillation of life. All that they long for we have obtained. The smile on our face says, “I’ve been there and done that.” Faith, for us, is not a theory but a reality. It is essence and therefore essential.

 

Mark 9:24

24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

 

Blessed are You, Lord, for You are my Great Consolation. AMEN