Jump Start # 1246

1 Thessalonians 4:13 “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.”

  Our verse today is a sad reminder that death always lurks in the shadows. Death is always difficult to understand. Questions arise such as, why and where are they? Death is especially hard around the holidays. I didn’t look up the details, and it may be just how I perceive things, but it appears to me that more people die around the holidays than other time. And for many families, they are experiencing their first holiday without a loved one. Holidays can be painful for many families because of death.

Paul’s words to the Thessalonians, our verse today, is written concerning those who are “asleep.” That term is used, especially in the N.T., to describe the righteous dead. Jesus said that Lazarus was asleep. The Corinthians were told that we shall not all sleep, but some will be alive when Jesus comes. Paul’s words are not an exhaustive, detailed and analytical look at the subject of death. Not at all. He’s writing to Christians. His words concern the death of Christians. This is only one small slice of this big subject. It’s important, but it’s not everything. It was not intended to be.

Three things this verse helps us with.

First, we need to be informed. Paul said, “We do not want you to be uninformed.” A lack of knowledge leads to fear, false ideas and wrong thinking. Knowledge, on any subject, gives confidence, assurance and drives doubts away. And on the subject of death and what happens after that, the uninformed definitely outrank the informed. Ideas range from eating chocolate in Heaven, to reincarnation, to ghosts, to messages coming from the deceased, to all being saved and no one is lost, to the wicked ceasing to exist, to unbiblical concepts such as limbo and purgatory. Where do all these ideas come from? From being uninformed. When you do know, anything sounds good. Without any information, we chase speculations. People claim to have died and came back. They write books. They sound believable. Then comes another twist. Then, yet, another after that. Confusion abounds. People don’t like talking about the subject of death, so that further builds more chances of being convinced of something that isn’t true.

Do not be uninformed. Ok, how do I learn? Just how do I become informed? Through the Scriptures. No one knows more about this than God does. Paul’s words that follow in this context reveal a few facts. He tells us that Jesus is coming. He tells us that that will be a resurrection. He tells us that the righteous will be with the Lord. Where’s the proof? It stands behind the word of God. God stands behind His word.

As unpleasant as this topic may be to you, somewhere down the line you ought to give it some serious thought. It’s going to happen and you might as well know what is going to happen to you. Your knowledge will help assure your family. It will give you confidence. It will show that death is nothing more than a passage way, a door if you may, to the next room. Certainly things change. For the righteous, the change is for the better.

Second, Paul tells us that there is a hope in death. He wanted the brethren to not grieve as the rest do who have no hope. This tells us that some have hope in death and others do not. What is there to hope in death? From the first point, being informed, a person understands that death is not the end. The hope, for the righteous, is being with God. The hope is Heaven. The hope is the blessings of comfort. The hope is being finished with pain, sorrow and death. The hope is that Satan won’t bother you any more. Instead of fearing death, dreading death, there was a hope. There will be that grand resurrection day and the righteous will be gathered with Christ forever. That’s amazing. It’s awesome! In the presence of all the Bible greats, at one time and in one place. Nothing to fear. No other place that you need to be. Not in a hurry. Not behind on things. Not stressed. Not tired. Not bothered. Not scared. Together with God. Together with other righteous ones. A grand reunion with the righteous ones from before. There is a guy named Clement Nance. He was one of the very first, if not the first, preachers of New Testament Christianity in Indiana. He lived in the early 1800’s. I’ve been chasing some rabbits about his life and work in my spare time. I’d love to sit with him on a bench in Heaven and have him tell me about the early days. That fascinates me. Then there is my mother. In a few weeks, the twentieth anniversary of her death will be remembered. Then there are those who meant a lot to me who have passed recently. Folks like JoAnn and Terri in Kansas City. Marty in Tampa. Ted in Lafayette, IN. Billy, here where I’m at. Righteous people. Good people. They loved the Lord, followed Him, obeyed Him, and I have the hope of seeing them again.

Paul’s words were to the living about those who died. The Thessalonians had their own list. Not of family members and friends who died, but the righteous. Paul is talking about the death of the righteous. That’s where the hope was. Some of the Thessalonian Christians had died. The living were grieving over them. These words were addressed to that situation. The hope lies with the righteous. Not everyone has that hope. Not everyone is going to make it. Just because a person died doesn’t mean that there is hope. Just because the person was loved by me or was sweet, doesn’t mean that there is hope. The hope rests in the fact that they were believers. They were Christians. They walked, followed, worshipped and obeyed Jesus. That’s where the hope was.

Third, Paul tells us that there are two different kinds of grief. There is a grief that most have. It’s not based upon hope. They do not believe. They do not know what they believe. They have ignored the subject of death, like they have ignored God. They have been busy living this life and then one day, death comes calling. It catches them off guard. They aren’t ready for it. They don’t want to say “good-bye.” They grieve hard. They grieve long. Their lack of faith and understanding fuels questions, fears and anger. The mourning process is long and ugly for them. They are changed and not for the better. They blame God. They become cruel toward others. They feel cheated. They can’t give it up. I passed a cemetery the other day. Someone had strung Christmas lights around a grave. That’s a first for me. It seemed very odd. Did they think, and the answer is probably yes, that the departed would enjoy sharing the holidays that way? I wonder if there would be Christmas presents placed upon the grave? Uniformed and hopeless leads to strange things.

Christians grieve. Our text implies that. They miss loved ones. They grieve the loss of the righteous. However, their grief is different. It’s built around hope. It’s not despair and desperation and doom. There is a tug on the heart to be with the righteous. There is a tug on the heart to want to be done with this place. It’s not wrong at all for a Christian to shed tears. Jesus did. He knew Lazarus was going to be raised. He was moments from doing that. Yet, He still cried.

One final thought: the holiday season is a busy time with shopping, cooking, wrapping and spending time with family. Remember those who are grieving. Keep an eye out for them. Do something special for them. It’s hard. The first time is the hardest. It helps knowing that others care.

Roger