But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, NASB)
Ahhh … some of the more comforting verses in God’s word to us.
Most of us, if not all, have lost a loved one to death—earthly death. And we grieve for them, just as we should. We grieve because they’re not with us any longer.
But we who follow Christ know that earthly death isn’t the end. One day—in the not so distant future, I pray—Christ will return to gather those who have accepted the gift of salvation to Himself.
The glorified bodies of those who have died will rise to meet their Savior followed by those who still live at Christ’s coming.
And all of us will join together, “so we shall always be with the Lord.” Always and forever.
That’s where our comfort comes from. We know we will see our Christian loved ones again.
But there’s also a caution in these verses. Do any of those we dearly love not yet know the Lord? We need to diligently and consistently share His truth with them. We need to do everything we can to help them understand the gift of salvation. So they too can join in the celebration when Christ returns.
Amen and amen.
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