Friday, November 18, 2011
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 Brothers, 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. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
NO ONE WILL BE LEFT BEHIND
It seems the Christians of Thessalonica had wrong ideas about the events of the world's Final Day. They trusted in Jesus as their Savior. They believed He died for their sins and rose from the grave. They believed His promise to come again to judge the living and the dead. But they were confused about what this would mean for Christians who had died. They were troubled by the thought that dear family members and fellow Christians who had passed on would somehow be at a disadvantage compared to Christians who were still alive.
Paul sought to dispel their worries by using a term for death commonly used in the Bible: sleep. He reminded them that in the same way that Jesus told the people mourning for Jairus' daughter "she is not dead but sleeping" and then proceeded to wake her up, so also He will raise up all the dead and put their bodies back together with their souls on that Day. He will then escort ALL His believers, sleeping and living, into heaven's glory.
So we Christians need not grieve like unbelievers who think death is the end of the line. Our hearts ache when loved ones die. We feel the loss deeply. But our grieving is tempered by the happy knowledge that they are enjoying perfect rest in the presence of their Savior and a glorious wake-up call awaits them. When the curtain falls on the stage of world history, Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever. Praise be to God!
