Monday, May 14, 2012

Hope

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of humankind, who have no hope. -1 Thessalonians 4:13 (NIV)

The title of the devotional this morning is hope. Before I get to the specific context of hope today, I want to say that I am in Atlanta attending the Festival of Homiletics. With such a busy schedule, I HOPE that I will be able to write these daily devotionals each morning. If you don't get them, you'll know why and I HOPE you'll understand.

Now to today's assigned reading and the importance of hope:

Jesus has ascended into heaven and has promised to return. Most, if not all, of his followers at the time believe that his return would be in their lifetime. But when some of these followers begin to die, those remaining wonder if their dearly departed friends will be excluded from being reunited with Christ when he returns. You can imagine how concerned you'd be if you thought you were going to miss out on the triumphant return of the Lord and you can imagine why this would create a theological quandary.

That's why Paul writes what he writes. He assures the reader/listener that when Christ returns, the dead in Christ will rise first and will then be joined by those who are still alive. Together they will be caught up in the clouds to meet Jesus in the air.

There is much debate about whether Paul is using poetry here to describe this event or whether we are to take his description literally. Do those that die not join Christ in glory until he comes again or do they immediately go to glory to be with God? I try not to get hung up on how it happens and instead just cling to the promise that it does happen! It makes little difference to me as to how or when, only that it will!

May God grant you the grace to hope, to be encouraged and comforted in death. The same love that draws us to Christ and one another in life draws us to Christ and one another in death. We have hope!


If you're interested in reading through the Bible, tomorrow's readings are1 Kings 1, 1 Chronicles 28,Psalm 91, and 1 Thessalonians 5.

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