[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fdealing-with-the-death-of-a-friend":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fdealing-with-the-death-of-a-friend-surround":82},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":11,"columnName":64,"date":65,"description":17,"extension":66,"image":67,"meta":68,"minRead":69,"navigation":70,"path":71,"postType":72,"publication":73,"publicationUrl":67,"seo":74,"stem":75,"topics":76,"__hash__":81},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fdealing-with-the-death-of-a-friend.md","Dealing With the Death of a Friend",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10],"Philippians","Revelation",{"type":12,"value":13,"toc":60},"minimark",[14,18,21,24,27,30,33,36,39,42,45,48,51,54,57],[15,16,17],"p",{},"Where can you find hope in times of grief? Just ask King David: The Good Shepherd walks with us through the valley of death (Psalm 23).",[15,19,20],{},"Or ask the apostle Paul: Death can’t separate us from God’s love (Romans 8). Christ arose, and we will receive imperishable bodies of our own (1 Corinthians 15). Our bodies are temporary tents that God will fold up and replace with eternal houses (2 Corinthians 5). “To die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).",[15,22,23],{},"Or ask the apostle John, who consoles the faithful with words better than any sympathy card: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on” (Revelation 14:13).",[15,25,26],{},"John chapter 11 is a helpful text when dealing with grief, because it tells how Jesus himself responded to the death of a friend.",[15,28,29],{},"Confused",[15,31,32],{},"It unsettles our souls when a familiar face is no longer present; a well-known voice is silenced; a coworker’s desk sits empty; a customary seat at church goes unfilled. The death of a loved one makes us face our own mortality and question what we believe. More painfully, it causes us to wonder about the goodness of God.",[15,34,35],{},"Jesus’ friends were confused. Mary and Martha sent word that their brother Lazarus was sick, yet the Lord delayed a couple of days before going to their home. Why did he wait? Since “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (v. 5), why didn’t he come and heal Lazarus immediately?",[15,37,38],{},"The other disciples were confused, too. Why did Jesus insist on going back to Judea, where his enemies had tried to stone him? Why did he say Lazarus was asleep, if he really meant Lazarus was dead? Why did he say, “This sickness will not end in death,” but they showed up at Martha’s house to find Lazarus’ body rotting in the tomb?",[15,40,41],{},"Comforted",[15,43,44],{},"“‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘If you had been here, my brother would not have died’” (v. 21). Jesus didn’t rebuke Martha for voicing her frustration. Instead, he offered her some reassuring promises: “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23). “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (v. 25).",[15,46,47],{},"Along with his words of comfort, Jesus challenged Martha’s convictions. He asked, “Do you believe this?” (v. 26). It was gut-check time for Martha. “‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied, ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world’” (v. 27). But when Jesus ordered the tombstone rolled away, Martha objected that Lazarus’ decaying body would stink after four days. She professed to believe, yet (understandably) she found an actual resurrection hard to comprehend. It’s one thing to celebrate on Easter, but do we really believe in the miracle of resurrection? Will our faith pass the test when the body of someone dear to us is lowered into the grave?",[15,49,50],{},"Convinced",[15,52,53],{},"Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” and his friend walked out of the tomb alive. “Therefore many of the Jews who . . . had seen what Jesus did, believed in him” (vv. 43-45). Blood flowed in Lazarus’ veins again; his personality and speech were recognizable again; he dined with friends again (John 12:1-2). Jesus’ enemies wanted him dead again (12:9-11)!",[15,55,56],{},"When a loved one’s death produces confusion and grief, we can find comfort in John chapter 11. Death can’t defeat the Lord of life. Just ask Lazarus.",[15,58,59],{},"QUESTIONS:",{"title":61,"searchDepth":62,"depth":62,"links":63},"",2,[],"Revealed and Relevant","2013-11-17","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fdealing-with-the-death-of-a-friend","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":17},"articles\u002Fdealing-with-the-death-of-a-friend",[77,78,79,80],"Biblical Theology","Holy Week and Resurrection","Perseverance in Suffering","Church Leadership","dXGFGO5WE2MAyMX48rptytzLfRMAv3RdkhbhtMg-pOs",[83,88],{"title":84,"path":85,"stem":86,"description":87,"children":-1},"In the Hospital Room","\u002Farticles\u002Fdavid-faust-in-the-hospital-room","articles\u002Fdavid-faust-in-the-hospital-room","When I was a young boy, hospital rooms were mysterious places. Normally it was against the rules for children to enter the floors where the sick were being treated. When my parents visited someone in the hospital, my brothers and I had to wait in the lobby while they took the elevator into those hidden territories children were forbidden to see.",{"title":89,"path":90,"stem":91,"description":92,"children":-1},"Death by Assumicide","\u002Farticles\u002Fdeath-by-assumicide","articles\u002Fdeath-by-assumicide","*He sure seems surly*, I thought to myself. I met him only moments before, but the fellow across the table from me at a fellowship dinner wasn’t generating a lot of fellowship. When anyone spoke to him he gave a quick answer, then looked down and fiddled with his I-Phone."]