ESOCS Devotional 15 March 2023
TEXT: 1 THESS. 4:13-END
MEMORY VERSE: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4: 13 KJV
In our passage, however, Paul was addressing a different kind of fear. The Thessalonians feared that their loved ones who had died would be left out of the glory of Christ’s return which they had looked forward to. And so Paul assured them here that far from being left out of Christ’s return, their loved ones will be among the first to meet the Lord at His return!
It is natural for us to feel very sorry for losses of lives. However, I think most of us would rather not talk about death or think too much about it. The grief and loss that death brings does not really hit us hard until someone who is very close to us dies unexpectedly, and it seems as if our entire world has turned upside down. Through Christ’s death on the cross, we who are in Christ can face death very differently from others. But for those who are outside Christ, death only spells the end of all their hopes.
How different it is to attend a Christian funeral, where there is much singing, assurance and comfort from God’s promises. Instead of being an event with nothing but gloom and sadness, a Christian funeral is an exultation over death.
In our text, you will notice that Paul refers to Christians who have passed away as “them which are asleep” three times (vv. 13, 14 and 15). When Jesus was crucified, He felt the sting of death. When God the Father forsook Him, He bore the awful curse of death (Matthew 27:46). As He expired, He submitted to the power of death (Philippians 2:7). And as His lifeless body lay in the tomb for three days, He endured the desolation of death.
Dearly beloved, when Jesus died, He experienced the full terror of death for us. Because of this, death, to us, has lost its sting and has been transformed to sleep! How wonderful it is that Christ’s death has transformed our death into a sleep! What is there to fear in falling asleep? Sleep implies rest which is a most welcome prospect for bodies that are all weary and worn after labouring on earth!
- Do you grieve and despair like unbelievers at the death of a loved one?
- Lord Jesus, thank you for demystifying death on the cross and giving us hope of eternal life. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Exodus 7:25, 8:1-15; 1 Kings 13:1-10; Mark 3:19-30
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
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ESOCS Devotional 15 March 2023
