Is it biblical for a Christian to go to a grave yard and cry every day for loved ones?
John 11:1 - 57
ESV - 1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.
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Asked November 11 2023
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Sam Mekonnen
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Tim Maas
Mourning is a natural response to losses of loved ones through death, and Jesus said (in Matthew 5:4) that believers who mourn (as He Himself mourned for Lazarus in the passage cited in the question) will be comforted. However, prolonged or continuous mourning could reflect difficulty in accepting such comfort, and (in the case of a Christian) also a possible absence of remembrance or faith that the end of earthly life (which must be experienced by all who die before Jesus returns, and which Jesus Himself endured) is not a final experience. (Even in the account of Lazarus from John's gospel that is cited in the question, Martha (in John 11:24) expressed confidence that Lazarus would at least be raised in the resurrection at the close of the age.) Also, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, Paul instructs Christians in such situations not to mourn "as those who have no hope". Time spent in such prolonged mourning also lessens the time that could be used in comforting others in similar situations and directing them to Christ for salvation that will endure forever.
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