10 March - Grieving the Departed
“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 mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
The Bible frequently describes death as sleep. When his friend died, Jesus told his disciples in John 11:11, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep.”
Death can be a beautiful picture. It’s peaceful, describing the quiet rest of the body.
It’s restful, describing how the body and soul are now at perfect rest from all labour and suffering. It isn’t final, describing the hope of being “woken up”. Death is a means to transport us from one life to another.
So, this text provides a great comfort to Christian believers who are grieving for fellow believers who have fallen asleep. Paul wrote because he knew that the Thessalonians might lack full knowledge and they were worried that those who died before Christ’s return would miss the resurrection. He sought to give comfort by pointing to the certainty of the Christian hope.
Notice that Paul does not say that we should not grieve. He says that we should grieve in a certain way: with hope. And he remarks that there are some (the rest) who grieve without hope. Christian hope is coherent. It is grounded in the Word of God, and we know that God cannot lie.
We can have hope because Jesus died, and we can have hope because Jesus rose again, the quintessence of the gospel.
We die because we sin. It is the curse given as a consequence of our rebelling against God who made us. It is a strange thought that comfort in our grief comes from the death of another. And yet Jesus’ death is unlike any other death in history. Jesus’ death means (will mean) the end of death.
We can hope in a future that is guaranteed because of the acts of the past: the act of Jesus coming to this earth to die; being raised from the dead; offering salvation to all those who believe in him; having gone to prepare a place for each one of us; promising to come back to this earth to fetch those who have accepted him and who have believed on his Name.
Jesus’ death was not the end, and so we can have hope that our death is not the end either. It is based on the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So, we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
PONDER
As we face the reality of death, the reality of separation from a loved one, do we sorrow with hope, or do we sorrow as those who have no hope?
PROMISE
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away…. I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:4-5)
PRAYER
A prayer from Romans 15:13, NLT: "I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.
Article by the Reverend Dr James Low, a Dermatologist in private practice and formerly Priest at Good Shepherd Church, Johor Bahru.