SORROW UPON SORROW

I Was Just Thinking About - - -

On Friday, there was a time of gloom, despair and fear. Jesus Christ has been crucified and has died. It is understandable how those closest to Him would shed tears and be filled with sorrow. Their hopes, dreams and aspirations seem to have come to an abrupt and treacherous end. In their fear, the disciples would hide behind locked doors lest they suffer the same fate as their friend whom they had followed for three years. Three days later, all of this will change dramatically. Word is circulated that the stone has been rolled back from the tomb where Jesus had been placed. The tomb is now empty and an Angel declares to the women who had come to the tomb: “He is not here! He has risen just as He said!” (Matthew 28:6). Their sorrow would be changed to concern, anxiety and a search for the body of Jesus.

For them and us, Easter Sunday would be more properly declared as the commemoration of The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Several Hymn Writers captured the significance of the day with the words they have penned, such as: Christ the Lord Is Risen Today – Alleluia; Jesus Lives and So Shall I; and the refrain that expresses: "Up from the grave He Arose, with a mighty triumph o’er His foes; He Arose a Victor from the dark domain; and He lives forever with His saints to reign. He Arose! He Arose! Hallelujah, Christ Arose!" An appropriate application in this regard is II Corinthians 5:15, “And He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him Who died for them and rose again.” Sorrow should be turned to joy; anxieties should be turned to hope and confidence; fear should be turned into hope and triumph. To His followers, Jesus had promised peace and comfort.

While the Biblical Christian never loses sight of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and one’s identity with Him in His death and resurrection, the ebb and flow of life can bring with it sorrow. Paul emphasizes this when his friend and colleague in ministry, Epaphroditus, had become very ill. He indicates in Philippians 2:25-27 these words: “Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.” Paul is emphasizing the gravity of the situation and his concern for the ongoing ministry. In The Expositor’s Greek New Testament, it notes the intensity within the phrase “sorrow upon sorrow” that it carries with it the idea of “the heaping up of one thing upon another.” I gave considerable thought to this as my wife and I drove to Church for Easter Sunday Worship. It is almost oxymoronic to think of a day of rejoicing within a context of cares and concerns for loved ones, friends and family who are presently facing sorrowful times.

The country singers Joey and Rory Feek (featured on the Gaither Network) dealing with Joey’s cancer that led to her death on March 4, leaving behind a two-year old with Down Syndrome; after Church having a dear soul share about the death of a nephew who has left behind a daughter with Down Syndrome; a friend who was miss-diagnosed and is having to endure treatments for Cancer; a young child who recently turned six-years of age and who had been pronounced “cured” of ALL after 2 ½ years of treatment learning on his sixth birthday that he will have to endure two more years of intense treatment because his ALL has returned; a relative whose wife recently died now having to bury his brother later today; a family member whose Doctor indicated he has done all he can for him; the casualness of professing-Christians who miss the transformative power because of Christ’s Resurrection. Peter wrote about this in I Peter 1:3-7, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” 

Until that “last time” arrives, how are we to cope with sorrow upon sorrow? The word of hope is stated in II Corinthians 1:3-7, “…the God of all comfort comforts us in all our troubles…the comfort you can share with those who are going through similar circumstances…” Walk by faith and in hope! Rest in God’s comfort and peace! Consider these things with me!