1 Thessalonians 4:13
Believers Who Have Died
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. (NIV)
Word Study
Sleep – G3121 κοιμάω koimaō, to fall asleep, sleep; die
Hope – G1828 ἐλπίς elpis, hope, expectation
Thoughts…
For the Christian, sleep is a particularly apt metaphor for death, since death’s finality and horror are removed by the assurance of resurrection. Inscriptions on tombs and references in literature show that first-century pagans viewed death with horror, as the end of everything (Archaeological Study Bible Notes).
Even death has nothing on my hope. God destroyed death when Jesus died in our place. We have a future beyond death. We have hope in a better life beyond this one. If our hope is powerful enough to give us peace over death, how powerful is it to get us through whatever it is we are going through today? Our hope can bring us that much-needed ray of sunshine as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. It can also walk us through the darkest of days we find ourselves in along the way.
Hope means our future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades!
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