Jesus, the One Who Has Borne Our Griefs...

“And he [Jacob] recognized it and said, ‘It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.’ Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, ‘For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.’ Thus his father wept for him.” ~ Genesis 37:33-35, NKJV

Jacob's favoritism promoted hatred and rivalry among his sons. When Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, they hid their crime by dipping Joseph's multicolored tunic in the blood of a young goat. They brought the tunic to their father, as if they had "found" it, and asked him if he recognized it. Convinced his beloved son had been taken by wild animals and torn apart, a devastated Jacob grieved bitterly. He refused the comfort offered him by his sons and daughters. He resolved to go to his grave still bearing the grief of his loss. Jacob is not the only one to respond to intense sorrow in this way; it is a phenomena that is difficult to explain within a materialistic or evolutionary framework. Why not accept comfort? Why not try to make yourself feel better? What benefit is derived from stubbornly remaining in mourning for a loss you cannot recover? What makes the pain desirable? I know that mingled in my own grief is a cry for justice. I don't accept that is, should be. Death and evil are an affront, an offense, a contaminant - not the natural order of the world. If your worldview does not include God that there is no accounting for such a bone-deep demand. There is no point or depth to relationships. There is nothing beyond this physical realm of existence. There is no hope in using your grief to throw down the gauntlet in a demand that the world be different. If you do not believe in God, then you might as well abandon your sorrow and give up any desire to see things be "right." You may as well surrender yourself to the nightmare of a world that dies. Or you can be like Jacob. Whatever his sins, he loved his son. I would rather spend my life in mourning than give in to the reign of death. I will bring my tears and my sorrow and my loss to Jesus, the one who "has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows," and by whose stripes "we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4, 5) Jesus conquered death. He overcame evil. He is salvation to those who believe in Him, so that there will come “to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’

‘O Death, where is your sting?

O Hades, where is your victory?’” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)

I'll keep my grief. Because instead of exchanging it for emptiness, I will see it transformed into joy.

by Rebecca....