Died and Rose Again
Scripture: 1
Thessalonians 4:13-14 (NIV)
Brothers and
sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so
that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For 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.
Devotion:
In 1st
Thessalonians, Paul is writing to a young church wrestling with grief,
confusion, and fear over believers who had died. What hope was there for them?
Would they be united with the departed in the next life? Paul writes to them
tenderly, sensitively, and pastorally. He wants them to grieve not as those
without Christ grieve, but to grieve with hope. We all have known the loss of
loved ones; it brings real sorrows, real questions, and a real longing for
assurance.
Paul writes to a
church not schooled in doctrine. These new believers feared that those who died
might miss Christ’s return or the fullness of salvation. Their grief was made
more intense because of those fears. We mustn’t be too hard on those who
wondered these things. The New Testament scriptures were not completed. They
couldn’t consult their Bibles for the answers. Even today, believers still face
similar doubts and anxieties. Our losses can make our theology wobble.
In this letter,
Paul writes to tell these souls in Thessalonica that they could have hope in
Jesus regardless of the losses they had suffered. Paul doesn’t forbid grief; he
reshapes it. He tells them plainly, “We do not grieve as others do who have no
hope.” Many in our world today believe that when you die, that is simply the
end. There is no afterlife, nothing to hope for. In Jesus, we have hope of
eternal life with Him. For the Christian, there is hope in death; for the
unbeliever, only despair. Our hope doesn’t erase the pain; it transforms it
into new life.
Our hope is
anchored in the gospel. “God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep
in Him.” This is not a fairy-tale hope but a guarantee of new life after death
based on the historical fact of Christ’s resurrection. What God has done for
Christ, He will do for all those who belong to Christ. Death is redefined as
sleep; it is temporary, not final. The future of believers is secure, not
uncertain. All our loved ones who have died in Christ are with Him now as they
await with us the final reunion between God and man.
Paul’s teaching is
meant to steady our hearts in this world as we await the final consummation of
things. As Christians, this resurrection hope shapes how we face death and
grief. Let us all rest in the certainty we have due to Christ’s victory over
death. God and His creation will dwell together for all eternity.
Prayer:
Thank you, Jesus,
that you have come and conquered death. Help us when we grieve the losses we
suffer in this life. Comfort us as we approach the end of our lives with the
certainty we have that you will come again and unite all things in a new heaven
and a new earth where there will be no more dying and no more pain, no more
tears to stain our cheeks. Lord, thank you for your everlasting love. Amen.
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