1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NRSV)
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 on biblegateway.com
Verse 13But 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. Verse 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. Verse 15For 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 precede those who have died. Verse 16For 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. Verse 17Then 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. Verse 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Devotion
Recently I preached at the funeral of a good friend who was 40 and had battled cancer for the last 11 years. During those years there had been many prayers and conversations, two healing services and a multitude of hospital calls and home visits. We also covered the gamut of questions that come from such an experience.
We began with the “why” questions. We never could fully answer these questions; something was always missing or didn’t add up. Our faith struggle with the “why” questions moved us to ask: Who and whose are we?
Among those questions we found an answer: We are children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ and heirs of the kingdom. In this answer we found comfort and hope, and Sue died with a peace beyond understanding. The answer allowed her family and friends to know that death would not have the final say in her life or in ours!
Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, that nothing in all of creation, not even death itself, can separate us from your love and the promise of salvation. Thanks for the good news and the privilege to share it with others! Amen.