THE HOPE OF RESSURECTION
Sunday, 17th July 2016
(Trinity 8)
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13. But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
During a burial service, the presiding priest did something that seemed to baffle some of those who were present. He ordered the effigy of Christ on the cross to be taken away from the coffin. In explaining this much later to the congregation, he said that Christ was no longer the “dead” man on the cross. He had conquered death by rising from the grave. Every burial service in respect of a Christian is therefore an “Easter” service to celebrate the hope of our resurrection.
Paul had taught the Thessalonians about the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; and they were expecting that they would be alive to see it happen. Therefore, they were worried that those who had already died would miss the glory of the Second Coming. This necessitated Paul’s powerful teaching about the sequence of events at the Second Coming. Whichever way we look at it, the real joy in being a Christian is that whether we live or die, we belong to Christ. According to a popular Bible commentator, “what is important is that in life and in death, the Christian is in Christ and that is a union which nothing can break”. You are challenged today to live your life in constant readiness for the Lord’s coming. It may be sooner that you think.
Thought: Do I have this hope?