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"We will
not all sleep, but we will all be changed –
in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound,
the dead will be raised imperishable,
and we will be changed.
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable,
and the mortal with immortality.
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable,
and the mortal with immortality,
then the saying that is written will come true:
'Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?'"
1 Corinthians 15:51-55
God assures Christians that we shall indeed live again.
Christ shall reign over all his enemies, including the
ultimate enemy, death.
At that time, "the dwelling of
God will be with men, and he will live with them. They
will be his people, and God himself will be with them
and be their God. 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"
(Revelation 21:3-4). Come, Lord Jesus!
In the meantime,
we face death and experience grief. The one is unavoidable;
the other, justified. Jesus grieved for his dead friend
Lazarus (John 11:32-35). The believers in ancient Thessalonica
grieved for their deceased relatives and friends (1
Thessalonians 4:13-18).
Nonetheless, in the midst of
grief, we retain hope: just as Christ rose from the
dead to live gloriously with God, so shall we.
And we
do not grieve alone. God is attentive to our sorrow.
Our fellowship group surrounds us. Our pastors and elders
are on call.
Dark days lie in wait. Sadness surrounds.
Grief ever lurks. Yet through it all, hope resounds:
"The dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we
who are still alive and are left will be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so we will be with the Lord forever!" (1 Thessalonians
4:17).
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