Praise God that I am once again in a position where I must prepare for Sunday worship throughout the week. Long removed from the days of being just a congregant, on Monday (and the rest of the days) I am among a group of friends that are carefully seeking Him and moving on His direction to set the tone of worship for the upcoming Sunday. Aside from the fact that Melicer and I arrived at church two hours earlier instead of our usual one hour so I could ensure technical efficiency [in the youth media/music ministry], things seemed pretty usual. I was quickly reminded however that the large majority of our teenage congregation are Highland Springs High School students, who had suffered the tragedy of a classmates' sudden death just days before. The thick air of grief rested heavily on them. Although they are kids who have a relatively good understanding of the difference between natural and spiritual death, the truth was that this moment was not a lesson--it was life. However, our church has great young people and even greater leaders.
A young man, who was allowed to speak after our praise and worship session took hold of the microphone and struggled to get words out; yet still offered thanks to God just...because. A victorious young woman who sings with the Praise Team spoke to her peers about the importance of praising the Lord at each opportunity, living like a Christian, being willing to offer a relationship with Jesus to friends, and being certain that we are Saved ourselves. At the direction of the youth pastors, who are proven and mighty men and women of God, the teens took turns speaking of their heartache that has resulted from losing loved ones (the pastors and other leaders also shared some of there own past hurts). This expression of pain went on for roughly 40 minutes until one of the pastors declared that we change the atmosphere. And in a spectacular fashion, the teens stood together and determined that the shadow of death was around long enough.
Almost suddenly, praise music erupted from the speakers and the once tearful youth reminded themselves of the promise of life they have in Christ. The young people danced, clapped, shouted, and hugged each other---celebrating joy that cannot be stolen. The pastors removed themselves from the center of the sanctuary and allowed the spirit of explosive admiration for God to take over. The place that was once dominated by sorrow was now filled with authentic cheer. Once again, the great truth that Jesus is the victory was magnified.
So, during a debate that Jesus' disciples had about who would be the greatest in heaven, Jesus selected a nearby child and told them that first, "being converted" and becoming "as the little children" will position anyone to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. He also expressed to them that the humbleness that this child displayed is the same humbleness that makes someone great (Matthew 18:3-4). This is said easy but it can be difficult to do, as with adulthood comes experiences--and some experiences can also bring fear and doubt. Losing a loved one is one of those experiences; where we can mourn so much that it can divert our attention away from who God is and what He says about death, and we begin to doubt Him. But instead of letting our logical feelings steer us into wavering faith that can come over a loss, why not allow God's Word to guide us away from settling in our emotions and towards cheering on His Glory. And we don't have to wait for someone to die to implement this; but if we live by His Word then we can reduce the opportunity to complain or have woe-is-me parties about nearly anything. As a result, that humility will perpetuate our focus on God, as in Him there is no sadness. Now this doesn't mean we won't ever be hurt...but we don't have to stay hurt. As a matter of fact, one stays down only as long as they want to.
Grief is one of those weapons that is formed against you that can't prosper if you belong to the Family of God.
Peace
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