Healthy Grief
Grieving My Own Mortality
Grief is a strange human emotion. No one can tell beforehand how s/he is going to react to the death of a friend or loved one. In some cases we may be surprised how deeply affected we are by a person's death.
Although grief is a unique and intensely personal emotion, there are universal features ofit that help us to see how to grieve in a healthy way.
It takes one of two forms -
• GRIEVING MY OWN MORTALITY & prospect of my own death
• GRIEVING THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE or someone else.
Jesus on Death & Dying JOHN 14:1-6 ; JOHN 11:1-50
Many modern translations of JOHN Chapter 11 verse 26 read: "and whoever lives and believes in me will never die", which is patently untrue. We all die. And Jesus did not say that.
The Greek Text of JOHN 11:26
The Greek actually reads: "and whoever lives and believes in me will not die for ever." Older versions like the KJV translate this as: "will not perish". In other words, Jesus is talking about eternal life and resurrection from the dead.
A Pattern In The Attitudes Of Patients Who Are Dying
Research into the attitude of patients who were dying has shown a pattern in the way people view their own impending death. This pattern is characterised by the following features -
• ANGER at my life being snuffed out when I've got so much left to do
• BARGAINING trying to prolong my life by bargaining with God and others
• DEPRESSION when the reality of my impending death finally hits me
• ACCEPTANCE when I realise death is an essential part of life & the gateway to eternal life