Faith in Christ brings hope and joy. Often music is the best reflection of a worldview (i.e. culture, mindset, and/or religion) so take a look at the Christian music out there. Most of the well known Christian songs are joyful – "just be happy and everything's going to be fine! Don't be sad, praise God!"
But life isn't always like that. There is hatred, mourning, loneliness, shame, and despair, all enhanced by deep divisions between people. These things can even be found in the best of churches. Sin's consequences are ugly. There are times for mourning and sadness. But where does Christ fit into these times?
Christians love to celebrate the joyful parts of the Bible - for example, we love our big Christmas festivities. But not everything's all fine and dandy in the Bible. The book of Job is about a man in the depths of despair, who lost everything he had and even began to think that God had deserted him. Ever read the book of Jeremiah? It predicts many calamities and can be depressing at times.
God knows all about suffering. Jesus spent 40 days in a desert with no food and the devil for company. He sweated blood in anticipation of his crucifixion, which is known to be one of the most brutal ways to die. And It wasn't just any ordinary crucifixion - He also took upon himself the weight of the world's sin, with God's wrath attached.
Most people celebrate Christmas, but not nearly as many people commemorate Good Friday, the anniversary of Jesus's brutal death. I also fall into the trap of concerning myself only with happy things – I often try to ignore sadness. Sometimes it's like I'm trying to deny the fact that there even is sorrow, though in my own life I hit rock bottom all too often, writhing in the grip of dark depression. I've said to myself, "I'll just publish the happy half of my writing and keep the bitter parts to myself."
And perhaps that's one of the reasons people dislike Christianity – we come across as do-gooders with our heads in the clouds, showing off our shiny hope and joy, without the simplest acknowledgment that we're still broken sinners who still feel pain.
Love, hope, and joy is great of course. But sometimes we don't leave any room for Christian mourning and Christian sorrow. Sometimes we present to the world an image that seems to trivialize the bad times of life. At least I do.
So what should we do? We can't throw away our love, hope, and joy. But I think we could acknowledge sadness more – recognize that there is a time and place for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:4). For example, the well-known Christian song Tears of the Saints by Leeland expresses sadness for the lost, and the lesser-known Lament by the Christian band NewWorldSon is downright mournful. Why? Because sometimes hope seems bleak and instead of joy there is misery.
We should also get involved in ministries that reach out to people who are broken and in misery. Some good organizations that do this are Love is Louder, Gospel For Asia, and the International Justice Mission.
Of course, there needs to be a balance. Most of the sad Psalms in the Bible end with a reminder that God is in control and He will redeem us. The book of Job ends with the protagonist getting back twice of what he lost, and also shows us how his suffering was part of a much bigger picture. God will always pull through (Isaiah 40:28-31). We may not understand, may not see any hope in our future, and may not even be delivered until after death. But still God will never fail. He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. - Matthew 5:4
We live in a broken world. Mourning is a fact of life. Don't ignore it, gloss over it, or trivialize it. Feel free to be sad without thinking that you're putting God aside. But always keep in mind that one day there won't be any mourning - in heaven. God is in control, and God is good.
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