Death: Mourning to Morning

Death: Mourning to Morning                                                            by Kelly Durant

Text: Genesis 23:1-4.

2. It is Biblical to take a time to mourn the loss of a loved one. How many of you have lost someone you loved? Did you take a few days or weeks to allow the pain of the loss to pass? Let’s consider these examples in the Old and New Testaments.

Abraham mourned when Sarah died. Genesis 23:2

2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.

Mary mourned for Lazarus.   John 11:31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who mourn.

Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

The followers of Jesus are asked to share their feelings with those who mourn.

 Rom 12:15-16 5Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

3. So what is the meaning of mourning?  It means to grieve, to endure a painful feeling for a time for a loss or for someone passed on. When do people usually mourn?

Most of us mourn right after a loved one is taken away from us!  Matthew 9:15

15 Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

God grants us permission to cry and to be sad when a loved one is taken away. Naturally, we are sad when we realize we can no longer visit or talk to that person, or to hear their voice. It sparks many memories of all the special things you did with that person.

4. We believe in the Word of God, and the Scriptures emphasize that a believer who has given his or her life to Jesus, is not dead but alive!  The loved one that has passed on from this life on earth has gone to live in the Kingdom of God in the presence of Jesus.

To be with Jesus is better than being here!  2 Cor 5: 8 “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”  This verse reveals that Paul knew it would be much better to go home, but none of us go until the Lord wills it.

All of our loved ones who loved God are in the presence of Jesus in heaven. They live with the Lord in eternity! If we were to ask a departed loved one if they would like to come back into their old, weak, and sick body, I’m sure they would not want to! Who would not be happy when you are with the Lord Jesus and with all the saints who have finished their race here on earth?

5. Mourning is an understandable lamenting for one who has left us, but our comfort is that it is only temporarily!  It is not a mourning of sadness as if we will never see him or her again. Those who put their trust in the Lord Jesus will be together with Him and with their loved ones for eternity!

None of us can stop the sadness of a loss. Saying goodbye is always a sad thing. But remember, this is not a goodbye as if we will never see our loved one again, we will meet them again.

How do we know that our loved one is with the Lord Jesus? It is by faith as we place our trust in the infallible Word of God. The God followers rest in Heaven. Do you recall Samuel was bothered when he had his peace disturbed to return to communicate a message of doom to Saul? Jesus did the miracle of raising up Lazarus, and He will raise up all of us in His time! Jesus himself did not remain dead but He was resurrected on the third day proving that God accepted His bodily sacrificial death as an offering for the sins of whosoever will accept him. He gives to us eternal life and we shall never perish!

6. When Jesus died on the cross, he said these words, “It is finished.” This means that the debt for our sins was settled and death no longer would reign over the spirit of anyone.  The benefits of death include the certainty of a future resurrection as Jesus proved is possible. It is available to all who will repent of their sins, and turn to Christ for forgiveness and accept Him as Savior and Lord of their lives.

When we are sure a loved one has repented of his or her sins, and has asked Jesus Christ for forgiveness receiving Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, according to the Holy Scriptures we have the certainty that that loved one has passed from death to life right now through Jesus.

John 5:24 " Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life”

7. After we have had time to mourn, it is time for a new morn; we must rise up and keep on going with life. It is a transition from passing from a mourning time, to a sunrise time, to the acceptance of a new morning with new horizons.

After Abraham completed his mourning, he rose up.

Genesis 23:3  Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, 4 "I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead."

After a time, and we will feel when that is, we need to move on and rise up. To mourn for months and months wearing black everyday as done in South America and many parts of the world I contend is not healthy. We must mourn for a short season, but then we must stop the mourning.

Why stop? Because life must go on and we need to look to the future!  All life, our selves included, will go the way of all living beings with a sunrise and a sunset. One day you and I will travel down that road through the “valley of the shadow of death” but we will not fear. Until our time is come, we have work to do.

8. How long should any one of us mourn? I can’t give an answer to that. It all depends on the individual. Some people will need a few days, some a few weeks, others maybe a few months. It is important that we mourn properly as it is comparable to allowing a wound to heal. But notice that after a time all wounds heal and we must be thankful for that renewed moment.

Some people experience problems getting past hurt feelings. They are tempted to dwell on the past which they can never get back again. Some people even remain angry at others even years after they are out of their life; the pain lingers as if it happened yesterday. Others may also get angry at God and blame Him for untimely events that disrupted their world but dwelling in the past will destroy one’s present and one’s future.

How do we live with a new morning? We get involved with people and we do things to get our mind off the subject. We must not mourn years and years, as human beings we have a need to have fun in life because we have a God who wants us to be happy. We don’t have a sad God, we have a happy God! Forget the past, forgive what you must, and seek a bright future.

9.  After a new morning, a new dawn, and a moving on we discover God’s new purpose for our lives. In the end we see God fulfill His purposes as we make new friends and do new things. Let’s take a look at Abraham’s actions after the death of Sarah.

Genesis 23:3-4

3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, 4 "I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead. Abraham left the city of Ur with his father when he was a young man. God had planned for Abraham to inherit the land of Canaan and to be a father to many nations.  

Genesis 12:1-3

1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;

I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Although Abraham settled in Canaan for about 50 years, he did not own any land of his own in Canaan. He had his sheep and cattle grazed on rented land. He was a still a foreigner in the land inhabited by the Canaanites. However, now with the death of Sarah, he takes the opportunity to buy his first piece of property – a field with a burial cave for his departed wife.

10. After Sarah’s death, Abraham would now own his first piece of property in the land that would later be called Israel. He and his descendants would eventually own the entirety of the Promised Land that today includes Israel, Palestine and the surrounding nations. Sarah’s work on earth had been completed. Abraham’s work was not. But through the life and death of Sarah, God fulfilled his purposes for Abraham and his descendants.

Years earlier God used the death of Terah, Abraham’s father to make him move on from the city of Haran. It was God’s plan for Abraham and his family including his father Terah to settle down in the land of Canaan to and be a separate nation. But Abraham for one reason or another had chosen to settle down in Haran which is half-way to Canaan. Abraham only began to move on to the Promised Land upon the death of his father Terah. Abraham at the age of 75 with all his family left Haran after the death of Terah (11:32). The lesson we learn is that after mourning, we must rise up and move on no matter how old we are.

Sarah passed away long ago but the purposes of God and the lessons of human history bringing new revelations of God to His people continues on. The hand of God on human history does not end with the death of Sarah, the death of a great man such as Abraham, or the death of one of our loved ones. They each fulfilled a God inspired destiny and each of us has our own to fulfill.

11. After the darkness a new morning will rise! Our Christian descendants will keep the faith alive! God works through one generation, then God works through the next generation after that. God is referred to as the God of “Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” This implies that God will always be present doing a work in our children and our children’s children. This gives me hope!

You and I must pray to allow our mourning to pass into a morning! We must rise up and move on after God has helped us heal with His comforting Holy Spirit after a time, so we then fulfill the next mission and calling. We will pass on to the other side to heaven, but we will leave a legacy to our children and our grandchildren.  Leaving them faith in Jesus and eternal life is the best legacy one could ever give!

Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted” Each ending offers a new beginning!  May our resurrected Lord Jesus keep and bless you and I in the good times, sad times, and dying times! A promotion to glory is a priceless prize for us, the faithful, at the end of life’s race! Keep on until the finish line!