Friday, November 9, 2018
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, 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 to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
THE LAST DAY: HAPPY REUNION DAY
A custom among many families is to schedule annual get-togethers with kith and kin (parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings, cousins). Such gatherings typically involve a festive meal or picnic, or a rendezvous at a family-favorite location (a park or campground). Such get-togethers are memorable events. Even in our age of Facebook and texting there's something special about spending time in company with loved ones, seeing their actual faces, and "chewing the fat" in person. Family reunions are especially enjoyable because they afford the opportunity for loved ones who live hundreds of miles apart to reminisce-- in person-- about "the good old days," to catch up on the latest, or just to share laughs.
Something about family reunions that is invariably true, however, is that some faces are missing as the years pass due to the Lord calling loved ones home. (If your family reunions are similar to ours, departed family members are often the subject of conversation with sentiments shared about how much they are missed.) Though departed dear ones are missed, our sadness as believers is tempered by Jesus' promise of the happy reunion day to come. We know that when He returns in glory on the Last Day He will bring with Him all the souls of believers who have gone on ahead. In the snap of a finger He will cause the souls of your dearly departed grandma, father, son, aunt, Christian friend, or other loved one to be reunited with their resurrected bodies, and He will then whisk them up together with His living believers to be with Him in heaven with new, transformed, glorified bodies patterned after His.
What a thrilling day it will be! And the best part of all? Not only will we be reunited with loved ones who have died. We'll see Him face to face, the Savior who made it all possible by His redeeming work of love for sinners. He will extend to each of us a personal invitation to partake of His feast unending. It will be a Family Reunion Day that never ends.
There God shall from all evil Forever make us free, From sin and from the devil, From all adversity,
From sickness, pain, and sadness, From troubles, cares, and fears, And grant us heavenly gladness And wipe away our tears.
In that fair home shall never Be silent music's voice; With hearts and lips forever We shall in God rejoice,
While angel hosts are raising With saints from great to least A mighty hymn for praising the Giver of the feast.
(Lutheran Service Book, 514:3-4)
