Should Christians grieve?

[Richard1]

Before I was a Christian, a leader of a political party died, and I wept because of his death. When I became a Christian and Diana, Princess of Wales died I did not grieve for her. However, an announcement was made, in a Pentecostal church that I attended, of her death. Some members, including the leaders, openly grieved and others did not. The pastor spoke about it and gave the impression that we should not grieve but later, in another meeting, he seemed to have changed his mind.

Should we grieve over the death of another person?

 

[kingzjewel]

even though Jesus knew that Lazarus would be resurrected He still grieved... so i think its fine to grieve. WWJD ?

 

[PapaLandShark]

Straight from the hip?

If the person was not saved I would grieve the loss. If they are saved I would still grieve because I'm still human...but I would also rejoice.

So my answer would be yes.

 

[heavensworthit]

even though Jesus knew that Lazarus would be resurrected He still grieved... so i think its fine to grieve. WWJD ?

Amen
It say yes too. It's just that you are grieving for something different. If they knew Jesus, you are grieving because you miss them, not because you won't see them again. It is only human to grieve or else we would be sinning alot....

 

[vinki]

but not as those who have no hope!

 

[Ave Maria]

Grieving or mourning is perfectly natural and I believe that even Jesus experienced this emotion. I don't see anything wrong with it. In fact, I feel it is a natural and healthy part of getting over the death of someone.

 

[Richard1]

even though Jesus knew that Lazarus would be resurrected He still grieved... so i think its fine to grieve. WWJD ?

Where does it say that Jesus grieved for the death of Lazarus?

 

[Richard1]

The general consensus is that it is acceptable to grieve. What advice would you give King David who lost his son, if you were one of his servants?

2 Samuel, chapter 12, verses 21-23 says that ''Then his servants said to him, 'What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.' And he said, 'While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' 'But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.''

 

[BarbB]

Where does it say that Jesus grieved for the death of Lazarus?

JN 11:35 Jesus wept.
JN 11:36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

JN 11:37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

I picked up a bit afterward to id the verse. It's actually the shortest verse in the Bible.

It was grieving for my husband that made me cry out to God who graciously answered me with the Holy Spirit. So in that sense, grief is a good thing. It still takes a long time to grieve for the death of a loved one, but I can rest in the assurance that I'll see him again.

As far as grieving for public figures, I wonder if it's just the surprise of it all. Thinking of Princess Diana and or John Kennedy Jr. When I've attended the funerals of those I knew were saved, it's not the mournful affair one would think!

 

[okiemommy26]

Grief is a natural process just like anything else our human bodies and emotions do, and I think God expects us to grieve when we loose a loved one because we miss them but if they are saved we know that they are in a better place and one day we will meet them again. If we didn't grieve some people will actually get depressed or go mental and that isn't healthy.

 

[Richard1]

I picked up a bit afterward to id the verse. It's actually the shortest verse in the Bible.

It was grieving for my husband that made me cry out to God who graciously answered me with the Holy Spirit. So in that sense, grief is a good thing. It still takes a long time to grieve for the death of a loved one, but I can rest in the assurance that I'll see him again.

As far as grieving for public figures, I wonder if it's just the surprise of it all. Thinking of Princess Diana and or John Kennedy Jr. When I've attended the funerals of those I knew were saved, it's not the mournful affair one would think!

It was explained to me, by a pastor, that the expression 'Jesus wept' meant that Jesus wept at the unblief of the Jews around him.

The Lord does assist those who grieve. He probably sent an angel to aid you.

 

[TheDandyMan]

Grieving is a human emotion, and there is no sin in being human.

I find it hard to believe how one could not grieve over somebody's death, whether they were saved or not.

 

[xsynerinc]

Grieving is a human emotion, and there is no sin in being human.

I find it hard to believe how one could not grieve over somebody's death, whether they were saved or not.

i have a number of loved ones in heaven now. and i truly miss being able to see or speak to them. but with eachs 'see you later' ceremony..
and after id sufficiently recovered the most recent .. i discovered that in each case it was my own selfishness that was expressed rather than recognizing that as Paul said, to die is gain.
i wasnt thinking about my mother who nolonger had her husband. i wasnt thinking about my mother who nolonger had her younger daughter or the babies who now had no mother.
i was thinking about how it effected me.

i don't know.. maybe i've got this all wrong.

and when my widower brother said that hed not come to family gatherings anymore because he waits for that ultimate family gathering in heaven.
i cried again because it meant that i would not see him till then. so not only do i miss my sister in law.. but her husband as well.

 

[nvrbnunloved]

Of course it is right for Christians to grieve - grief is a natural reaction to loss - any kind of loss. We grieve because we have lost someone - whether or not others supposedly have more cause to grieve is immaterial. We grieve because we will miss someone we have loved - and I do not consider that selfish in any way. We are each entitled to our own reactions, our own feelings are just as valid. But as someone already said, ours is not a hopeless grief. We have a faith, a hope, a knowledge that we will be reunited. We do not mourn the end of an earthly life, we celebrate the going home of a believer. For someone who was not a believer all we can do is pray that they connected with the Lord in their hearts in some way that we did not know of, before they died. JMHO.