1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

Verses chosen for meditation: I Thessalonians 4:13, 16-18; 5: 6, 8 - 11 ESV:

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 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. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.

8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Reflect

What does this passage tell us about those who have left us on this earth?

How should we go about living our life? And what are we to live on?

What can we actually do for one another in this life?

Relate

The loss of a loved one can affect us in many ways. Most of them, to be honest, are centred on our own interests. There's one, though, that's specific to the interest of the departed. And that's their destiny - what happens to them after death?

This passage assures us that their future has been taken into consideration. It will be well taken care of by the Lord. For that reason, they would only be thought of as being 'asleep', as in taking a long sleep, only to be awakened at the appointed time of Christ's return where they'll join us in a great reunion with the Lord.

As for us who are living, we should not grieve over the loss as though there's no hope or future for the departed and us.

That day will come, as surely as day comes after night. But for now, we need to be watchful and awake, spiritually that is, as we wait patiently and expectantly for that day. 

So, besides air, food and water, the basic three necessities, we're to live on faith, hope and love (5: 8), the cardinal three, or the remaining three as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 13: 13, which have since become the end points of my own life journey after being spiritually awakened by the verse.  

It's said that if we could summarise anything into 3 simple words, we'll probably not only remember them better, but have a much clearer picture. It's kind of like zooming in. For me then, they would have to be faith, hope, love. For some others I know, they would be awakened, aligned, assigned.

Recently, I had a conversation with one of my pastors on how to share hope with those whose medical outcome is bleak. I find this topic extremely challenging not so much as a doctor, but as someone called to pray for an individual. Unfortunately, we didn't get very far with the discussion as other church members started to join our table.

Still, I would be very keen to know how to share hope in such a situation. Does hope only have to do with a favourable recovery? What if recovery is not imminent, does it mean that there's no hope? Is that what hope is really all about? Of course, the same argument can be applied to other outcomes in life.

Whatever it is, we can't speak about hope in a vacuum without any reference to faith. For it affects the way we view God since hope and faith are closely intertwined. 

There is also the question of love. In the most hopeless of situations, how do we continue to love God, others and even ourselves?

I remember some forty years back when my mum was suddenly taken ill and warded in ICU for an unknown cause of shortness of breath. Even in that state, she prepared me beforehand that if anything should happen, she wanted me to continue loving God. I would only later realise that loving God is more than trusting God.

Pushing us forward in this life is not just any hope, but the hope of salvation. Along with it, faith and love. Faith to guard our knowledge of God and then guide our worship of him. Love to deepen our relationship with God and also govern our relationship with one another. If we get this right, it will help us stay clear headed as people of the 'day' who are not asleep or drunk from indulgence and obsessions commonly associated with the 'night' or dark side.

Also helping us along the journey are fellow brothers and sisters - in - Christ. For we're not entirely alone in this as we belong to a community of likeminded persons. Therefore, it's important that we keep company with some of them for accountability as well as support and encouragement.

It's no passing remark that Paul should write about being an encourager to one another twice in the passage (4:18, 5: 11). A listening ear, a thoughtful text, a timely prayer, a helping hand, a simple hug or a shoulder to cry on goes a long way to lend encouragement to one another. 

It is my belief that when it comes to convicting someone, it would be the work of the Word or Spirit or both, not us. We're only standing in as channels or facilitators since we're in no position to judge or convict another.

During a recent bible study exercise on Titus 2, I've also come to realise the importance of the Grace of God. In fact, the Grace of God is very much an enabler and equipper as the Word and the Spirit. In our weakness, the Lord's Grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12: 9). Our salvation, too, was an act of Grace (Ephesians 2: 8). Besides being the Word incarnate, I see Christ as the personification of Grace. 

So, when we speak of accountability and encouragement, of being accountable and an encourager to one another, we need to appreciate the Grace of God. For only then can we be an effective encourager with the help of the Word, Spirit and Grace. It makes sense, too, that people of the 'day' should also be full of the Word, Spirit and Grace.

Rest

Lord, thank you for the blessed assurance. May we so live as people of the day. May faith, hope and love be as basic to us as air, food and water to help us live according to the way we should. May we be an encourager as well to one another, helping one another along this journey of life. In so doing, may we be men and women of the word who are full of spirit and grace.

Naville Chia