Godly Grief
Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 17-19; Acts 8; Psalm 5
Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. – Acts 8:2
Human logic isn’t always the best guide for how Christians should respond to life’s trials and sorrows. That’s not to say Christianity is illogical. Far from it. Jesus is the Logos—the Logic of God. The closer we are to Him, the more clearly everything makes sense in light of eternity.
But our minds are flawed by sin, and our reasoning isn’t always as reasonable as we imagine. For example, some Christians reason this way: If a believer dies, they’re safe with God. They have eternal life and the hope of resurrection. Therefore, we shouldn’t grieve—because that might seem like we’re doubting those truths.
Yet that’s not the pattern we see in Scripture. When Stephen died, “devout men buried him and made great lamentation over him.” (Acts 8:2) His death was full of glory—he saw the Lord Jesus and was received into His presence. Scripture even describes his brutal stoning as if he merely “fell asleep.” (Acts 7) If all of that is true—and it is—why such great sorrow?
Because sorrow, for the Christian, is not a contradiction of hope.
I'm glad Luke tells us these were devout men who lamented. Otherwise, some might argue they were immature or lacked faith. But no—they were godly men, and they grieved deeply. And that tells us something important: grief has a place in faithful Christianity.
Why is that?
First, because death is always a result of sin. Even when the sting of death is removed for the believer, death itself still testifies to a broken world. Every death reminds us of the cost of sin.
Second, loss is still loss. Eternity is our hope, but we still live in time. We miss the people we love. We feel the ache of separation.
Third, some losses feel unjust. When the wicked perish, we may see justice. But when the godly die—when someone like Stephen is taken—it feels like something precious has been cut short. The early church lost a powerful witness, a Spirit-filled leader. That hurt.
There are good, faithful reasons to grieve. And we can grieve without shame.
As Paul reminds us:
“We do not grieve as those who have no hope.” (1 Thess. 4:13)
But we do grieve.
