July 12
“I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep 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 by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words,” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
Judging on the basis of what the apostle Paul wrote in the verses above, it would appear that among the Thessalonian Christians there were people who had some questions and maybe even some doubts about what happens after a Christian dies.
The apostle did not want the readers of his Epistle to be ignorant of the facts that are taught in Holy Scripture. He begins by speaking of those “who have fallen asleep.” This is a very gentle and comforting expression that the Bible uses to talk about death. When we think about sleeping, we think of resting, a time during which we are not troubled with all of the works and the worries, the sadness and the sorrows, the difficulties and the disasters that are a part of living this life on earth.
As Christians, Paul writes that we should not “sorrow as others who have no hope.” Indeed, when a loved one dies, we sorrow; we grieve, but we need not be ashamed of our tears. When Lazarus – the brother of Mary and Martha and the close friend of Jesus – died, the Bible says, “Jesus wept!” John 11:35. At the death of a loved one, being sorrowful and shedding tears are expressions of natural affection and love.
When people die believing that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to take away their sins and who rose from the grave to conquer death and the devil, their souls are with the Lord from the day of their death. When Jesus comes again on the Last Day, the bodies of the Christians will be raised from their graves and be reunited with their souls. With both body and soul they will meet the Lord Jesus in the air as they ascend into the halls of heaven. The Christians who are still living on the earth when Jesus comes again will join that heavenly host ascending through the clouds to meet the Lord and Savior. Thereafter, we will always be with the Lord in that place of which Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you,” John 14:2.
As Christians, we comfort one another with God’s assurance of the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the body. We will be in that place of which John writes, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away,” Revelation 21:4. What a day! We wait for the coming of Jesus with majesty, power, and glory to take us home!
“Asleep in Jesus! Blessed sleep,
From which none ever wakes to weep;
A calm and undisturbed repose,
Unbroken by the last of foes.
Asleep in Jesus! Peaceful rest,
Whose waking is supremely blest;
No fear, no woe, shall dim that hour,
That manifests the Savior’s pow’r.” Amen.