Every time you lose someone you love, it’s a pause from the normal. Grief allows us to boldly ask the bigger questions – what is the meaning of life. What matters most? On a normal day, we may not give a passing thought to anything other than today. We run from one thing to another in a mad rush to accomplish big things.. But in the midst of grief, a deeper question arises. What is the meaning of life? I believe no one is an exception to these thoughts.
The writer of Eclessiastes says
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Eclessiastes 3:11
Our soul knows there’s more, or at the very least, it wonders if there could be more. However, its often easier to brush that feeling aside. Life is busy and there is much to achieve, much to accomplish. Who has the time to understand the meaning of life? “Life is too short”, we say and march on to do our next “important” thing. But what if this short life isn’t the only thing worth paying attention to? What if there is more and what if what’s more is much bigger than the life we live here? What then?
God has put eternity into man’s heart. Nothing we accomplish can bring us purpose and meaning unless it aligns with the eternity that God has planted into our hearts. Grief is good in a away, it allows us to pause and recognize the inevitable. May we never ignore what our soul needs – may we always be mindful of eternity. May we walk closely to the Shepherd of our Souls.
In Jesus’ own words,
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Mark 8:36