“Do not be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe… that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
Paul wants us to know something about those who are asleep, which is his way of talking about those who have died. That he compares death to sleep already gives you a sense of the hope Christians have about the dead.
When someone dies, people will often notice how “final” death feels. Hardly anything compares with the total stillness that accompanies death. There is the inability to have one more conversation or make one more plan. There may be unfinished work, travel, projects, poems, or even symphonies. But none of that matters anymore. Death immediately makes us stop in our tracks.
Yet what if you knew that, as final as it seems, death would not get the last word? What if you knew that the last word will come instead from the Lord Himself when He “will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)? Then those who have died in Christ will hear His voice and rise to Him in life, meeting Him in the air. Be encouraged by this!
When someone dies, people will often notice how “final” death feels. Hardly anything compares with the total stillness that accompanies death. There is the inability to have one more conversation or make one more plan. There may be unfinished work, travel, projects, poems, or even symphonies. But none of that matters anymore. Death immediately makes us stop in our tracks.
Yet what if you knew that, as final as it seems, death would not get the last word? What if you knew that the last word will come instead from the Lord Himself when He “will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)? Then those who have died in Christ will hear His voice and rise to Him in life, meeting Him in the air. Be encouraged by this!
Scripture Focus
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Insight
“It is unavoidable, after all, that you should be saddened; but when you feel sad, let hope console you.” (Augustine, AD 354-430)
Bible In A Year
- 2 Kings 9-10
- Proverbs 15
- 1 Peter 2-3
