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Time For Sunday Mornings Prayer And Thoughts For Today

Are For Boris Johnsons Family

 

 

Following the news that the prime minister’s mother has passed away, Claire Musters reflects on her own experience of losing her mum and urges us all to do better at talking about grief

 

Coping with Grief and Loss

Whatever type of loss you’ve suffered, there’s no right or wrong way to grieve. But by understanding the stages and types of grief, you can find healthier ways to cope.

 

 

What is grief?

Grief is a natural response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away. Often, the pain of loss can feel overwhelming. You may experience all kinds of difficult and unexpected emotions, from shock or anger to disbelief, guilt, and profound sadness. The pain of grief can also disrupt your physical health, making it difficult to sleep, eat, or even think straight. These are normal reactions to loss—and the more significant the loss, the more intense your grief will be.

 

Coping with the loss of someone or something you love is one of life’s biggest challenges. You may associate grieving with the death of a loved one—which is often the cause of the most intense type of grief—but any loss can cause grief, including:

 

Even subtle losses in life can trigger a sense of grief. For example, you might grieve after moving away from home, graduating from college, or changing jobs.

 

Whatever your loss, it’s personal to you, so don’t feel ashamed about how you feel, or believe that it’s somehow only appropriate to grieve for certain things. If the person, animal, relationship, or situation was significant to you, it’s normal to grieve the loss you’re experiencing. Whatever the cause of your grief, though, there are healthy ways to cope with the pain that, in time, can ease your sadness and help you come to terms with your loss, find new meaning, and eventually move on with your life.

 

 

 

Following the news that the prime minister’s mother has passed away, Claire Musters reflects on her own experience of losing her mum and urges us all to do better at talking about grief

 

The grieving process

Grieving is a highly individual experience; there’s no right or wrong way to grieve. How you grieve depends on many factors, including your personality and coping style, your life experience, your faith, and how significant the loss was to you.

 

Inevitably, the grieving process takes time. Healing happens gradually; it can’t be forced or hurried—and there is no “normal” timetable for grieving. Some people start to feel better in weeks or months. For others, the grieving process is measured in years. Whatever your grief experience, it’s important to be patient with yourself and allow the process to naturally unfold.

 

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.

 

n the Book of Romans, Paul imparts deep theological truths and asks difficult questions to the believers in Rome. This letter also contains one of the most well-known verses in Scripture, especially for anyone familiar with the “Roman’s Road” of verses used to succinctly explain the gospel. Here it is:

 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23, ESV).

 

This common verse also contains one of the most prevalent juxtapositions (or contrasting ideas) in the New Testament, which is death versus life. It is easy for us to emphasize one part of this passage over the other because it is somewhat of a “bad news” and “good news” type of verse.

 

But if we are going to share the full truth of this passage, we have to work to understand what both halves mean or share the meaning accurately. For further reading, check out my previous article that explains how the “wages of sin is death.”

 

Now let’s deal with the second (and more positive) section by answering this question: What does it mean that the “gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”? I will try to answer this by unpacking the three short pieces that make up the phrase.

 

1. The Gift of God

A gift is the opposite of a wage. We earn death because of our sinful nature as well as the sinful work that we do. It is a reward that we deserve. But in contrast, a gift is given as a result of the generosity of the giver. In this verse, we see that the gift of life is the result of the undeserved grace of God.

 

Although we still have to die physically because of the “wages” of sin through our mortal bodies, those who receive Christ will never experience a second, spiritual death. Paul centers on the grace and generosity of the Giver (God) in his letter to the Colossians:

 

...having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him (Colossians 2:12-15, ESV).

 

Because of Jesus’ substitutionary atonement on the cross, God remains just, while gifting eternal life to those who receive Jesus, while those who do not still die in their sins.

 

2. The Gift of God Is Eternal Life

This is not the only gift from God, but it is the most monumental and, in a way, the gift that all other gifts come out of. The gift of eternal life is so important to understand, especially against the backdrop of what happened in the Garden of Eden that resulted in death for all of mankind. Paul explains this connection in the previous chapter:

 

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation [and death] for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:18-21, ESV).

 

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