1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NRSV)
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 on biblegateway.com
Verse 13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. Verse 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. Verse 15For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. Verse 16For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Verse 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Verse 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Devotion
The Church is so raw here. These early Christians have been asking Paul questions rooted in confusion, exclusion, urgency and hope. Here they wonder about their eschatological fate and the fate of their brothers and sisters in Christ already buried. What will it look like when Christ comes again? Paul tells a story that makes one thing very clear: Jesus is in charge and will cause all believers to rise. What good news for those nervous disciples of the resurrected Christ!
Prayer
Lord of life, we worry about the things we do not understand and look to your Word for peace. We rejoice in Paul's words, relieved that you will not forget a single soul, and await that glorious day when we are caught up in the clouds. Amen.