I didn’t plan it this way but with the passing of two iconic figures in the entertainment world the subject of death, grieving, and heaven are hot topics right now. So this week as we continue the series Parousia we turn to I Thessalonians 4:13-18 where Paul instructs the Thessalonians about the reality of death but also the believer’s hope in the resurrection. Apparently the new Christians in Thessalonica where being overwhelmed with grief because of the inaccurate messages they were receiving about what had happened to their loved ones who had died. It is out of a deep pastoral love that Paul shares the hope of the return of Christ because it will be a time of reunion with their friends and relatives who had passed away.
Grief over the death of loved ones and friends is also a reality for believers today. What we’ll come to find in this section of Thessalonians is that the believer’s hope is bound up in the promise that the same God who raised Jesus from the grave also has the power to bring back his followers who have died. This understanding gave great HOPE to Christians in Paul’s day and should do the same for us today.
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