You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
Charlie Brown cartoons are timeless. Even though the Charles Shultz strip first appeared almost 70 years ago, his cartoons are still popular today. While other comic artists rely on contemporary topics for humor, Mr. Shultz tapped into the core of the human condition: grief. Charlie Brown’s favorite expression was, “Oh Good Grief!” and grief seemed to follow him wherever he went.
Fortunately for Charlie, his grief was a gentle kind of grief. A child’s grief over child-like things. The disciples had to face very adult-like grief. This grief would be like a knife to the heart. It would paralyze them and deny them the ability to think straight. The grief they will face will be unlike anything they have ever experienced because it will tap into the very bedrock of their existence. The one they have come to know as God will die.
Once again we see Jesus preparing his disciples for what is to come. Once again we hear his reassurance that everything will be okay. Once again he promises that he will return and we will see him again, and no one will take away our joy.
Food for thought: How is our situation today similar to what the disciples are about to experience? Do you find encouragement in Jesus’ promise that a time of rejoicing is coming?
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Yes. While our enemies of sin, death and Satan were defeated on the cross, they are not yet destroyed. So they still cause pain and we still need to trust in Jesus’ promises, just like His original disciples.
Thanks Rich! Nicely stated.