1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-14 - EXPECTATION

Expectation

I believe this passage 

is quite direct

in saying I have 

good reason to expect

to see my loved ones 

who’ve died in the Lord

when He comes in the clouds 

according to his word.

So I do not grieve 

like the rest of men

who have no hope in Christ 

who rose again.

I miss my loved ones 

and have felt death’s sorrow,

but I cling to the confidence 

of heaven’s tomorrow.

“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant 

about those who fall asleep,

or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.

We believe that Jesus died and rose again

and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus 

those who have fallen asleep in him.”

I Thessalonians 4:13-14 (NIV)

ĕlpis¹⁶⁸⁰ – from a prim ĕlpō (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstr. or concr.) or confidence: faith, hope.

            The passage above will forever remain in my memory not just for its encouraging message but due to a sixth grader’s goof in writing it out for a test.  Verse 14 was the central verse in Bible class that week, and the students were required to write it from memory. Extra points were given for correct punctuation, and points were lost for misspelled words. But one child’s mistake on the quiz became the teachers’ lounge humorous story of the week. As I was grading papers I came across this attempt:

“We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have slept with him.”

Not quite the same connotation as “fallen asleep in”. The mistake was quite innocent, and it helped me to realize that I needed to emphasize that the Bible uses falling asleep as a euphemism for dying. It also made this verse stick in my brain for the rest of my life!

            Now that I am older and have had several loved ones fall asleep in our Lord, I am so thankful that God gave us his word that we will see them again when Christ returns. I look forward in eager expectation to that “Great Big Family Reunion” in the air! Not only will we see our friends and relatives who knew Jesus, but the patriarchs whose stories have inspired us will be there as well. Let’s anticipate that day with pleasure.

            Lord, may we look at a beautiful sunrise or sunset washing the sky with vibrant color and be reminded of the day that we will be caught up in the clouds. Help us in those times of grief to be reminded of this promise of reunion so that we will not lose hope. Help us to encourage other Christians with this expectation of seeing our loved ones again and spending eternity with them and you!