“We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. …Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

1 Thessalonians 4:13, 18
My 50th high school class reunion was marked by the recalling of memories and the telling of stories. Treasured relationships were renewed that evening with the intertwining of our lives after all these years.

Yet this was a pale foreshadowing of a great reunion to come. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven… and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds” (v. 16-17). We will be together again with our loved ones and friends. I will be reunited with my parents, my sister, my grandparents, my relatives, many friends, and people over whose burials I presided. And I will be with Peter, Paul, John, Luke, Mary. Then our lives will be permanently intertwined.

Yet there’ll be an even grander reunion. We “will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (v. 17). Just imagine! We’ll all be drawn to and united with Christ. Ever say, “I wish this moment would last forever?” This time it will!



Scripture Focus

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Insight

When grief sets in, “encourage one another with these words” (v. 18). How do these words encourage you today? Who needs your encouragement?

Bible In A Year

  • Zechariah 5-9
  • Proverbs 29
  • Revelation 15-17

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