THE REST AND RETURN

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:14

When the apostle speaks of those who have fallen asleep, few doubt he is speaking of those who have died before Christ’s return. The dead in Christ are not, however, in a state of unconsciousness akin to the sleep we know as those who are alive here on earth. As the thief on the cross was promised to be with the Lord Jesus that very day (Luke 23:43), there is amazing life in those absent from the body and present with the Lord. There is ceaseless and glorious praise among the redeemed deceased unto our God and King, Jesus Christ. Why the term ‘asleep’ then? Those who have fallen asleep have ceased from their labors in the Lord, just as we cease from physical toil and labor when once our heads lay upon our pillows at night. This is the rest into which we are all laboring to enter (Heb 4:11). It is a rest which is full of joy and eternal glory because it is entered by true belief and founded upon every promise and atoning proposition of Christ’s quick and powerful Word (Heb 4:12). This rest will not be bodiless forever. There is a resurrection coming, as sure as the promise of the Lord’s return. The bodies of the dead in Christ shall rise first (1 Thess 4:16); then “we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thess 4:17). Note, the verse says “to meet the Lord” and “be with the Lord,” not “to meet them” and “be with them.” We certainly do love our brothers and sisters in Christ, yet, it is the Lord Jesus who is the object of our faith, love, and earnest expectation. He is risen indeed! And He is coming again!

He is King and He will return,
His shout makes the dead rise:
And we, alive, will be caught up
To meet Christ in the sky.

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Today's M'Cheyne Reading Schedule: 4/7 - Lev 10; Psa 11-12; Prov 25; 1 Thess 4

If you don’t have one, get a free PDF copy of Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s “Daily Bread” Bible Reading Calendar by Clicking Here.

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