Our brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will take back with Jesus, those who have died believing in him.

What we are teaching you now is the Lord’s teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died. There will be the shout of command, the archangel’s voice, the sound of God’s trumpet, and the Lord himself will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first; then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. So then, encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

If someone dies, and they are in Christ, we can be sad. Their "life" has ended. We know that we will not see them again, in this lifetime, and we need to grieve about that. But being a Christian does not end the day someone dies. It is only the beginning. We know that because of our faith in Christ, we will see our loved ones again, when we enter heaven. They will already be there to great us. It will be like a huge coming home party. And that is not something to grieve about.

Even in life’s darkest hour, Christians have the brightest hope.

Our Daily Bread – August 19, 2003