11月13日

標　　題：不要像其他人一樣憂傷

經　　節：論到睡了的人，我們不願意弟兄們不知道，恐怕你們憂傷，像那些沒有指望的人一樣。（帖撒羅尼迦前書四章13節）

基督徒不像世人一樣那麼憂傷。世人所經驗的是沒有指望的憂傷，基督徒也憂傷，然而，基督徒的憂傷是伴隨著希望。在耶穌的時代，喪事是表露心靈哀慟的時刻。在喪禮中嚎啕大哭，是表達對死者的敬意。人為痛失所愛而哀傷，是由於無力改變現況。人一生的經歷中，也許沒有比喪禮更叫人無助和絕望的。

耶穌也在摯友的喪禮中悲泣，祂的哀傷並非因為無望（約翰福音十一：35）。耶穌知道拉撒路很快就要復活，也知道當自己再來的時候，拉撒路與所有的信徒，都會從死裏復活，與祂永遠同在天堂。耶穌哭泣，是因為看到所愛的人那種無望的感受。復活與生命就在祂的朋友當中，他們居然還哀慟（約翰福音十一：25）！

當耶穌戰勝死亡的那一刻，祂永遠地改變了基督徒對死亡的看法。基督徒會遭遇喪失所愛的痛苦，但我們仍有盼望，因為曉得在任何處境中，神使萬事互相效力，叫愛祂的人得益處（羅馬書八：28）。我們有希望，因為知道沒有任何事可以隔絕我們領受基督的愛，即使是死亡，也不能使我們與神隔絕（羅馬書八：38～39）。我們有希望，因為耶穌會來接我們到天堂，讓我們永享與祂沒有攔阻的交通（約翰福音十四：3）。

即使是基督徒，也不可能逃脫生命的哀慟。然而，基督已復活所帶來的希望，可以減輕你的哀慟，因祂是你的希望及你的安慰。

Not Sorrowing as Others

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13)

Christians do not grieve as the world grieves. The world experiences sorrow without hope. The Christian also has sorrow, but the Christian’s sorrow is accompanied by hope. In Jesus’ day, a funeral was a time for an impassioned demonstration of grief. It was a sign of respect for the deceased to wail loudly at a funeral. A person grieving the loss of a loved one had no power to change what had happened. There was probably no time in human experience where people felt more helpless or vulnerable than at a funeral.

Jesus, too, wept at the funeral of a close friend, but His sorrow did not come from a lack of hope (John 11:35). Jesus knew that soon Lazarus would be alive again. He also knew that at His second coming, Lazarus and all of Jesus’ followers would be resurrected from death to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Jesus wept because He saw the hopelessness felt by the people He loved. His friends had the Resurrection and the Life right in their midst, yet they were grieving! (John 11:25). When Jesus conquered death, He forever changed the way Christians view death. Christians still experience the sorrow of losing someone we love, but we have hope because we know that God can bring good out of any situation (Rom. 8:28). We have hope in the knowledge that nothing, not even death, can separate us from God’s love (Rom. 8:38–39). We have hope because Jesus will bring us to join Him in heaven so that we might enjoy eternity in unhindered fellowship with Him (John 14:3).

Even though you are a Christian, you cannot escape life’s sorrows. But you can temper your grief with the hope that Christ is risen, for He is your hope and your comfort.