Why do we grieve if our Christian loved one is with the Lord?

Chuck Smith, Comfort for Those Who Mourn, chapter 3: When I am gone, don't weep for me. I will be where my heart now longs to be, beholding the beauty of the face of the one I have never seen, yet I love. And though I don't see Him yet, I rejoice with unspeakable joy, full of glory (I Peter 1:8). I discovered, through the death of my godly parents, that my great sorrow was not for them, but for myself, for my personal loss of the beautiful input they always had in my life. My sorrow was selfish. I wasn't ready to let them go yet. I felt I still needed the security I always felt from their assurance and love. When I thought of them, there in His glorious presence, I rejoiced for them while I wept for myself. Scripture, King James Version: 1 Peter 1:8, "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:". From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.

Verified. Every scripture quotation on this page has been checked word-for-word against the King James text. Last reviewed 2026-10-15.