Dear Friends,
We hope this weeks devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk.
You are welcome to share this and include in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author.
Thank you!
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Devotional Thought
With the death of some of the earliest Christ-followers came a realization that Jesus would not return as quickly as expected. In order to avert despair and confusion in the early church, Paul penned the words of reassurance found in this passage. These words were written for the living, since those who had “fallen asleep” needed no comfort. Believers were to use Paul’s words to encourage one another (4:18). Paul’s words did not just offer Christ-followers consolation about the fate of the faithful dead, though. A careful reflection shows that they were intended to encourage the living on how to live victoriously. Paul’s word fit into the larger passage beginning in 4:1 that contains instructions on how to live in a way that pleases God. Having assurance of a future hope prevents incapacitating despair and allows one to live faithfully and expectantly in the here and now.
Prayer
Lord, may your promises for the future motivate and inspire us to live hopefully in the present.
Rev Dr Linda Stargel
Academic Dean