Peace In Loss And Sudden Changes
As I prepared for writing my thoughts this month, I asked AI how loss in life is defined. What follows is the response of our world’s artificial intelligence.
“Loss in life is defined as any significant change, ending, or deprivation of a person, object, function, or cherished, familiar way of life that causes a deep emotional impact and requires adjustment. It goes beyond physical death, encompassing intangible, "living" losses that disrupt a person's expected life trajectory.
Loss is a normal part of life that causes a range of emotions—grief, shock, confusion, and sadness—as individuals adjust to a new, often painful, reality”
Loss is an earthly experience and will not be a part of our eternal heavenly life. Loss is personal. Loss is unavoidable. Loss can be gradual or sudden. Loss can come into our lives through death, relationships, illness, professions, geography, finances, failure and defeat, and many other circumstances. Loss can be a result of our actions, the actions of others, or the natural laws of nature and chance.
All humans will face losses, perhaps that is why the book of Job is the most read and studied text in the Holy scriptures. Linda Barnett has written an article this month which is a wonderful study of the man Job. I highly recommend that you read that article in the coming weeks. We all long to endure our losses like Job, as James reminds us, “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11).
But Job does not stand alone in the scriptures as one who suffers loss. Starting with Adam and Eve who lost their two sons by murder and exile, loss becomes an ever present experience throughout the scriptures. After Cain kills Abel, the reality of Adam and Eve’s life was one that included grief due to the loss of both of their sons. And yet, scriptures suggest that through all this unimaginable tragedy, faith was maintained. We are told this first family welcomes a new son, Seth. Eve declares, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed” (Gen 4:25). The lingering dependence on God is further seen when we are told that both Seth and his son Enosh “began to call on the name of the Lord” (Gen 4:26).
Due to the consequences of their own sins, Adam and Eve faced the loss of a garden that had afforded them a constant and special relationship with the Creator. And years later, in circumstances beyond their control, they would face the death of one child and the betrayal and depravity of another. And while I am sure there were many other losses in their long lives, we conclude that Adam and Eve did not turn away from God even in the face of loss. Our text tells us that they taught and raised the next generation of worshipers; both Abel and Seth. Many would have blamed God, become victims of the exile from the garden, grown weary of worship in a life now filled with toil, pain, and uncertainties. But, it seems they repented, sustained their faithfulness, and clung to God, as did their descendents.
We seldom think of the life of Adam and Eve as we do others who suffer loss and overcome through faith because we do not want to see them as victors - we want to make them responsible for our own losses and struggles. However, they did not sin for all of us; we each do that for ourselves. They faced tremendous loss and were required to fight to find God, to work to know His wisdom, and to search for His peace. Remember, they had experienced peace on a daily basis in the garden. How would they maintain peace while outside of that perfect dwelling place they had once enjoyed? That was the reality of their lives; they spent their days striving to find peace in the midst of the loss of the garden, understanding that it only exists if God is present. How would they find joy again, when the garden was no longer available to them? They were on earth, and God was in Heaven…he was not walking about with them as before. Surely, they would struggle to feel the presence of God.
While we can not be certain from the Genesis text if there were already others living on the earth when this tragic event took place, Jewish history indicates that Abel was the first person to die in the flesh, and I believe that is a logical conclusion. The Midrash is a rabbinic piece of literature that interprets, expands, and searches the Hebrew Bible to uncover deeper meanings, bridge gaps in the text, and derive legal and ethical lessons. It seeks to make the Torah relevant, and it relates that Adam and Eve wept beside the corpse of Abel, unsure what to do with the body because this was their first encounter with death. The Midrash continues the story saying that they saw a bird (araiv in the Hebrew) burying a dead bird in the ground. Adam and Eve decided to do the same and buried Abel in the earth. It is not a stretch to consider that God might have sent a bird to teach Adam and Eve how to respond to absolute evil and the circumstances facing them. The Hebrew araiv was understood to be a terribly cruel bird that would abandon its young at birth. Though Adam and Eve understood killing for sacrifice, it is likely they did not understand the tragic death that had entered their lives. Perhaps, if the Midrash’s account is true, this indicates God’s care in giving wisdom to Adam and Eve - understanding how to respond to the evil, sadness, and loss they now unexpectedly must experience.
On the surface, this account reflects the reality of the processes on earth - they had a human technical question of how to dispose of a dead body. On a deeper level, the account reminds us of the profound spiritual concepts that Adam and Eve dealt with that had not been experienced by others before them, how to find peace and comfort in a dark world. They were at a loss, not just about what they would do with Abel's body, but about how to respond to evil and how to deal with loss, this time due to the depravity of which Cain was capable. How would they live in the aftermath?
Can you imagine the meditations of the mind and heart that they both experienced at this loss? Yes, they had sinned, and they too would face natural death. They had not been perfect. But they could never have imagined that a child could act so brutally. The loss of one child was compounded by the sin of another.
We are able to understand and find some comfort in the fact that all losses we experience in our lives have been experienced by others in the past. We find comfort in knowing through many examples (Noah, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, Paul) that others before us have experienced similar losses, that loss can make us stronger, that our trials can make us wiser, that our grief can draw us closer to God. But Adam and Eve had quite likely not seen or known of any one who had experienced the loss of a child or loved one. They had never seen others struggle with betrayal of a child. How would they find peace that reflected what they had known only in the garden while in the presence of their Creator? How would they find it now? Now that they had suffered such losses, still dealing here on earth where Satan ruled and death, sin, disappointment, and loss would be constant?
Surely, they, like Job, had many doubts, fears, and an inadequate understanding of how to find peace and joy in the days on earth after the sudden changes involving loss.
Their former observation of God from their previous days would now be called to account for itself. What would the understanding of the goodness of God do to provide peace, as they would be subjected to decay and human disappointment for the rest of their days on earth? Certainly, there were sleepless nights, anger, and confusion. They were undoubtedly heartbroken as they struggled to understand and toiled to see God in all that had happened.
All lives are an interesting study for us, but I fear we end up passing by the reality of another’s life quickly, without insightful observation. No one lives a “fairy-tale,” but no one has to live without hope of restoration and peace. Our losses are forever with us. Yes, God blessed Adam and Eve with at least one more son. But God did not protect them from the pain of loss, and they would suffer the losses of the garden and their sons until they died in the flesh. What God allowed Adam and Eve was peace, as they remembered the God of Creation, His nature and His goodness – but new children did not replace the ones lost. New relationships did not take away the betrayal and broken relationship damaged by the words, accusations, and actions of Cain.
Finally, even for Adam and Eve, peace and calm, and ultimately, joy could come only from God. Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
They had to cling to God as they had known Him in the garden and live that they might be in his presence continually again. They would have to remember and strive to return to the garden described in Revelation 22: 1-2: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” It is what we do. We plant ourselves in the hope of our eternal home - where we will live in perfect peace. There will be no anxiety, death, failure, deception, lies, fear, tears, betrayal, or turmoil: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).