Scripture
Then you won't grieve over them and be like people who have no hope. (v. 13)
Observation
Christians are, above al, a people of hope. We believe in salvation and eternal life, not just for ourselves, but for all who follow The Way. We will meet our christian friends and family members again.
Not only this, but Jesus will return to take His own people away with Him. Those christians who have died will precede those who are alive at the time- but we will all go to be with the Lord for ever.
Paul doesn't develop a full doctrine of the end-time here. He is just interested in the basic facts- Jesus is coming back and we will share in His Kingdom for ever.
Application
It is interesting that when disaster strikes, you can tell the christians even in a short news grab. Two people will have their homes burned down. One will be devastated because they have “lost everything” while the other will say, “It's only things.”
We are a people of hope because our faith enables us to see beyond this present dark time to the future kingdom of God.
We have assurance that we will meet up with our loved ones again, and that gives us reason to rejoice even in grief.
The perspective of faith means that we judge every aspect of life differently to people in the world because we know that the best is yet to come.
Prayer
Thank you Father for the glorious hope we have in Jesus. May I ever keep my eyes on the the prize prepared for me and always view my life in the perspective of eternity. Amen.
Great topic. I think I really needed to see this after my comments on your blog about the results of our election. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteWe can easily get swept away into thinking these earthly things are all there is. The media promote politics and consumerism and whatever else is on their agenda today- but God's agenda is always different. That's not to say that government and justice are not important- but we have to keep the end in view which is not always easy!
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