SORROW NOT!
TEXT:
"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 verse 13, King James Version).
As Christians, we don't sorrow over the dead because we have the hope of reunion. This is not the case with the unbeliever. In the Scripture reading for today, the unbeliever is referred to as "others which have no hope" To the unbeliever, death is final! He's in a lost state forever!
Actually, the believer does not die. According to the Bible, he “sleeps” (see Acts 13 verse 36, 1st Corinthians 11 verse 30, 1st Thessalonians 4 verse 13,14, 1st Thessalonians 5 verse 10). The reason for this is not far-fetched! Jesus informed us in Matthew 22 verse 32 that our God is the God of the living, not of the dead.
For the believer, what the world calls “death” is simply a temporary separation from other loved ones who are believers also. The Holy Scriptures inform us that there's the hope of a reunion in heaven and living together in God's presence forever. In consequence thereof, we don't sorrow as the unbelievers do. Though we may for a while miss our loved one who has "died", our case isn't like the hopeless sorrow that's associated with the unbeliever.
Sometimes, we experience some temporary separation from our loved ones who, for example, left the house for school, for work, to the market or perhaps, traveled on vacation. Under such circumstances, it would be absurd or illogical for us to grieve over them as though we wouldn't see them again. No! There's always the hope of seeing them again, despite the temporary separation that's occasioned by their absence. In the same vein, believers have the hope of seeing and reuniting again with their loved ones on the resurrection morning. This hope of the believer is a concrete one, being hope which "maketh not ashamed" In other words, such hope never disappoints. (Romans 5 verse 5) Hallelujah!
Last May 2024 made it five years now that I lost my Father. Very recently, precisely on the 14th day of August, 2024, I lost my Church Deaconess. Though these two "deaths" have proved to be painful to me, but since they slept in Christ, I have the hope of seeing and reuniting again with them on the resurrection morning. Therefore, I do not sorrow as "others which have no hope". This wonderful hope of resurrecting from the dead and that of seeing and reuniting again with loved ones that have died belong only to those that are in Christ Jesus. The unbeliever has no such hope! Such people will need to get born again to qualify for it!
By way of extension, let's learn to view every aspect of your negative life's situation with hope. As the sorrow of losing some loved one is eased and deescalated through the hope that you'll see them again on the resurrection morning, in the same way, let the pressures that come from life circumstances be lessened through the hope that God's promises which you believe as true will surely come to pass in your life, in Jesus name.
PRAYER:
Father, thank You for qualifying me with the hope of seeing and reuniting again with my loved ones that have slept in Christ, in Jesus name.