God’s Trumpet
That
agrees with what the Lord has said. When the Lord comes, many of us will still
be alive. We tell you that we will certainly not go up before those who have
died.
The
Lord himself will come down from heaven. We will hear a loud command. We will
hear the voice of the leader of the angels. We will hear a blast from God's
trumpet. Many who believe in Christ will have died already. They will rise
first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up
together with them. We will be taken up in the clouds. We will meet the Lord in
the air. And we will be with him forever.
So
cheer each other up with these words of comfort.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
Christian
faith ought to make a difference in how we live from day to day. But the final
test of our trust in the gospel is how we react in the face of death. When
someone we love dies in Christ, it is a celebration. We know we will see them
again, for eternity. We know that they have gone to heaven just a little
quicker than we have. But we absolutely know we will see them in heaven, and we
will see our Savior in heaven.
Because Christ is alive, we too shall live.
Our Daily Bread –