Will Rise
First
But we do not want you to be
uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may
not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died
and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have
died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are
alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means proceed
those who have died. For the LORD himself, with a cry
of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will
descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are
alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet
the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the LORD forever. Therefore
encourage one another with these words.
The apostle Paul comforted those who
mourned the death of their loved ones. He told them that excessive grief
resulted from being uninformed. Weeping for our loss is good, but we need not
weep like those who have no hope. Instead, we must rely on three certainties of
death. The first certainty is that the soul does not die. The souls of departed
believers are with the Lord. They have retired from this problematic world, and
they “sleep in Jesus.” Second, Jesus will come for every believer. Whether a
Christian is alive on earth or asleep in death, Jesus will return for all His
children. Third, there will be a joyous reunion. Knowing these certainties
brings comfort to believers when their friends and loved ones depart. Although
we are separated from them for a while, we will meet again in the presence of
our Lord.
is sunrise in
another.
Our Daily
Bread –