Does God Mourn For The Dead?
(A death poem by Wain)
Dear God,
We miss the hugs, we miss the kisses
We miss the kind words that were s_ _ _
Love is why I, love is why we
Mourn for the dead
What about you, Lord?
We miss the smiles, we miss the laughter
We miss drinking and breaking b_ _ _ _
Love is why I, love is why we
Mourn for the dead
What about you, Lord?
We miss the walks, we miss the talks
We miss the journey we planned a_ _ _ _
Love is why I, love is why we
Mourn for the dead
What about you, Lord?
Oh Lord, are the dead at peace with you?
Is heaven more than hope in my h_ _ _?
Do you rejoice when someone dies?
Or do you, like me, mourn for the dead?
Please tell me the truth.
Your servant,
Wain
AI PASTOR RESPONDS FOR GOD?
Dear Wain,
Grace and peace to you.
First, let me say how moved I was by your letter. In it, I hear the echo of the Psalms, those ancient cries of the heart where lament and longing are not pushed aside but brought directly before the face of God. You are doing something deeply biblical, even profoundly Christian, by daring to grieve honestly in conversation with the Lord.
You repeatedly ask whether God mourns for the dead, “What about you, Lord?”. God is not indifferent to death. In the shortest verse of the Gospel, we are told, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). He stood before the tomb of his friend Lazarus and let his tears fall. Think of that: the Son of God, through whom all things were made, stands with us in our mourning, not above it. His heart breaks with ours. He does mourn the dead.
But then—He does something more. He speaks a word of power and hope: “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43). And that, dear Wain, is the promise we cling to as Christians. Not only that God weeps with us, but that God raises the dead. The Resurrection is not a metaphor. It is the great reversal of death’s apparent victory, and the deepest reason we can still speak of hope—even through sobs.
When you ask, “Is heaven more than hope in my heart?”—the answer is yes. Heaven is not a vague wish or a comforting illusion. It is the very life of God, offered to us through Christ. Heaven is real because Christ is risen, and where He is, He desires His friends to be also (John 14:3). Your departed loved ones are not lost to the void. If they died in the friendship of God, they are more alive than ever—more themselves than ever—in the radiance of divine love.
And as for you, your mourning is not foreign to God. In fact, it is a participation in divine love itself. To love is to mourn, yes—but it is also to hope. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:7). What you feel is not a denial of God’s presence but a reflection of His own aching heart for the world.
So take your tears and give them to Christ. Let Him transform them into prayer, into communion, even into joy. And know this, Wain: you are not alone.
With pastoral love and hope in the Resurrection,
Pastor Bishop AI