Setting Your Hope in God

 Disclaimer: Paul talks about the Rapture in this passage a concept I still struggle with. I believe that once you die you go direct to the Lord, so bodies awaiting till the rapture to rise is hard for me to grasp. I can see how Paul was comforting the Thessalonians here but was his concept correct? Add any comments you wish to this bafflement of mine. That said, I wrote this per the text. What do you all think?

Psalms 78:1-7; I Thessalonians 4:13-18

 The psalmist in Psalms 78 is not only telling his current audience to listen to his teaching but to pass it on from one generation to the next. Just like he has heard it from his ancestors, he asks the Israelites to teach them to the coming generations. They are to teach them to the children yet unborn so that these children will teach their children. Why? So, they should set their hope in God, not forgetting God’s works.

Fast forward to the New Testament where Paul is passing on this hope to the Thessalonians. The question these believers have is: “What happens to those who have died?” Paul doesn’t want them to grieve like others who have no hope. Christians, however, have hope of eternal life through Jesus and his work on the cross. Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again we have the hope that through Jesus God will bring with him those who have died.

The next question these believers have is: “What about us who are still alive when Christ comes?” Paul tells them that the dead in Christ will rise first and those who are still alive will be caught up in the clouds together to meet the Lord in the air. He assures them that they will be with the Lord forever.

Paul then passes on this telling to all generations by telling them to encourage – give hope to one another with these words. This is the truth they can set their hope on.

This is the hope the Thessalonians had to be taught and reminded of. Thank goodness for the other hope we can cling to – set our hope on – that Christ is with us during our earthly struggles and will pull us through them or give us the strength to endure them. Amen.

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