Perfect Love

“...but your grief will become joy.” John 16:20

Many things in this world grieve us. My sisters and I pray together daily and our prayer list grows longer every day. We pray for many who are very sick with cancer, many who are afflicted with depression, many who need livelihood, etc etc. And then how about the state the world is in, our country is in? When a relative of ours came to my dad’s wake several years ago, he said, “I’m more in mourning not for your dad who is free now, but for our country.” 

Yes, we mourn for many things. I am even sad for the poor children who are getting the dregs of education from the bottom of the barrel. In its most recent report, Phil. Business for Education describes the status of Philippine education as follows: nine out of 10 learners aged 10 years old cannot read simple text. 😭 I saw a grown man on TV cry because he could not teach his child the basics of reading and writing. Corruption in our country is so accepted that our voters just blithely say that anybody we elect will steal! Our leaders seem to want to keep our people ignorant so we will keep voting for has been actors who don’t know anything about making laws and family dynasties that have been in power for generations. And we know without a good education a majority of the young children will grow up without much hope to better the life of their families. 

Father God, why allow this? Why allow so much suffering and pain? I cannot understand just as the disciples could not understand what Jesus was telling them in John 16:16-20. “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

Yes the world rejoices and wallows in its sin. I see a video of a Senator rejoicing in his victory, dancing and laughing, even while so many doubts swirl about him and the whole electoral process. Yes I am still frustrated about the last election probably because I know it will happen again. 

“...but your grief will become joy,” Jesus promises. Just as we rejoice when a baby is born after a nine month burden and the intense pain of labor, we know there is a beautiful sunrise coming after the darkness of the night. That is God’s certain promise to us. We just need to be patient and wait for His time. We do not need to understand if we trust in His perfect love.