There was some confusion in the Thessalonian church about the fate of believers who die. We don’t know exactly what that confusion was, but Paul’s response is a wonderful reminder of the hope with have in the face of death. When Jesus returns he will call all his people to himself, raising up the dead with new resurrection bodies and transforming the mortal bodies of those still alive. Being ‘caught up in the air’ is not meant to indicate that Christians will leave earth forever. This is like a welcoming party that accompanies a King home in triumphal procession. Ultimately, we will live together with God in a glorious new heavenly earth with resurrected bodies forever. Paul lived his whole mortal life in anticipation of this eternal state. He looked forward to the return of Christ because his return would bring an end to this state of sin and mortality and would usher in the eternal Kingdom of God. This life is a short and tumultuous sojourn. It is significant but it is fleeting compared with the eternity before us. It was this perspective which enabled Paul to persevere and stay focused through all the turbulence of his life’s mission. He always had the finish line in view, and that encouraged him to keep running his race. So too, we must lift our heads and view each moment with the horizon of Jesus’ return in the background.
Ask God to open your mind to the big picture in which your life and actions take place.
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
