A life without grief is a life without love.
To experience love means that grief will be experienced too.
That which we desire most ardently is inextricably enmeshed in that which we dread and wish we could avoid.
This is a paradox of the human condition.
And love is not an option for a follower of Jesus.
The command to love one another necessarily means that our life following him will also be a life where grief is present.
It’s no accident. It’s intrinsic.
We are one in suffering. Some are wealthy, some bright; some athletic, some admired. But we all suffer. For we all prize and love; and this present existence of ours, prizing and loving yield suffering. >Ove in our world is suffering love. Some do not suffer much, though, for they do not love much. Suffering is for the loving. If I hadn’t loved him, there wouldn’t be this agony.
This, said Jesus, is the command of the Holy One:”You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” In commanding us to love, God invites us to suffer..Nicholas Wolterstorff, Lament For A Son, Spire 1989, pg. 89
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