When The Door Slams
Those who died in Christ
Now we do not want you to be uninformed, believers, about those who are asleep [in death], so that you will not grieve [for them] as the others do who have no hope [beyond this present life]. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again [as in fact He did], even so God [in the same way-by raising them from the dead] will bring with Him those [believers] who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
Christians do not grieve as the world grieves. The world experiences sorrow without hope. The Christian also has sorrow, but the Christian's sorrow is accompanied by hope.
In Jesus' day, a funeral was a time for an impassioned demonstration of grief. It was a sign of respect for the deceased to wail loudly at a funeral. A person grieving the loss of a loved one has no power to change what has happened. There is probably no time in human experience when people feel more helpless or vulnerable than at a funeral.
Jesus, too, wept at the funeral of a close friend, but His sorrow did not come from a lack of hope (John 11:35). Jesus knew that soon Lazarus would be alive again. He also knew that at His second coming, Lazarus and all of Jesus' followers would be resurrected from death to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Jesus wept because He saw the hopelessness felt by the people He loved. His friends had the Resurrection and the Life right in their midst, yet they were grieving (John 11: 25)!
When Jesus conquered death, He forever changed the way Christians view death. Christian still experience the sorrow of losing someone we love, but we have hope because we know that God can bring good out of any situation (Rom. 8:28). We have hope in the knowledge that nothing, not even death, can separate us from God's love (Rom. 8:38-39). We have hope because Jesus will bring us to join Him in heaven so that we might enjoy eternity in unhindered fellowship with Him (John 14:3).
Think about this: Even though you are a Christian, you cannot escape life's sorrows. But you can soften or soothe your grief with the hope that Christ is risen, for He is your hope and your comfort.
May I be strong and courageous; may I not be afraid of discouraged because of my adversaries, for there is a greater power with me than with them, for the LORD my God is with me to help me (2 Chronicles 32:7-8). An hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man (John 5:25-27).
As the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Never Rest Ministries
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