There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Seasons change. Some are bright and warm while others are bleak and cold. The bright and warm seasons seem to rush by, don't they? Who can get enough of them? Then the bleak and cold months come along and although that period may be the same in time span, it drags by. Its hard to see past overcast skies or have the same mobility in the cold.
Now that I live in South Florida, this is not a problem of course, but when I lived up north, what kept me going was the hope I had that one day spring would arrive.
Hope. It changes everything. Thank God for it.
Right now, my family is going through one of those difficult seasons of life. The season of mourning my beloved uncle who passed away this weekend. He was dearly loved and will be sorely missed. But because God is gracious he gives hope even in the coldest of seasons. He brings us memories that bring about a smile and He reminds us of just how blessed we were to know and love him.
No, it doesn't ease the pain, but it does warm the soul just like the bright sun on a bitter cold day.
In our mourning, Jesus meets us there and he comforts us.
Matthew 5:4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
So yes, we mourn... but we are comforted.
Comforted by hope.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
Brothers 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. 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.
We mourn because we miss our loved one and on this side of heaven we no longer have that human connection. But, we have the hope, because of the resurrection, that one day all who are in Christ will be made alive.
1 Corinthians 22-23
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
In memory of my uncle, Rolando Lorenzo
