HOPE:
As humans we hope for all kinds of things. “I hope I don’t get COVID19. I hope you get well soon. I hope I’m not late for work. I hope I win lotto.” This kind of hope is a yearning optimism of aspirations we wish for.
But the Bible speaks of another kind of hope …….. Jesus! Jesus is our “God of hope,” Romans 15:13. We know that at the end of our physical life on earth our soul and human spirit go straight to be with Christ. In Philippians 1:21-24 Paul says, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” After death, we have no “soul sleep.” Rather, we experience a conscious, immediate presence with God.
And the hope doesn’t stop there. When Christ returns, those believers who have already died will return with Him to judge humanity. Paul said to the Corinthian believers, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world,” 1 Co 6:2. Christ will be the judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42), but believers who have died at the time will be with him.
Even if we are still alive when Christ returns, our hope remains. The dead in Christ will receive a resurrected body first, and “after that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,” 1 Th 4:17. Then we will live with the Lord forever in a new Heaven and new earth (Rev 21).
So, if you are feeling hopeless today, be reassured of your eternal life, which you have already ❤
About Pastor Julie
I’m passionate about the church – building believers up in their faith, to be all God intended them to be; and I’m passionate about sharing the love and hope of Jesus with people who don’t know Him yet.