1 Thessalonians 4:13-14; 18

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. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
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Pastor Bruce shared some details of papa's life; his love for family, his love for fishing, his skills as a carpenter and gardener. Those were the things that occupied my grandfather's time, but those things did not make my grandfather. A person is more than the sum of their activities and interests, a person is more than the flesh and blood body that walks this earth. A person is a spiritual being with a soul and to understand a person you must understand their soul and the spiritual direction of their life.
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Joe's spiritual direction changed on February 22, 2001. On that day Pastor Bruce led my grandfather to the Lord. From that day on Joe was more than a father, grandfather, fisherman, or carpenter, he was a child of God. And because he was a child of God he had a newfound hope and those of us that are children of God have that same hope; hope that we'll be in the presence of God one day and even reunited with Joe.
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There are three thoughts that I'd like to share with you from these verses and my prayer is that these thoughts will provide an anchor for your soul. Perhaps Joe was dear to you and you need an anchor for your soul this day; perhaps the Lord will call someone that you dearly love to Himself in the future and you will need an anchor for your soul on that day. I truly believe that these verses provide us with that anchor.
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I. The Reality of Grief
The first thought that we see in these verses concerns the reality of grief. Verse 13 does not encourage us away from grief; Paul did not say that we are not supposed to grieve. He said that we do not grieve like those without hope, but we do grieve. Grief is the human emotion that comes when something or someone is lost. To grieve is to be human; we've all lost things or people that are dear to us and the emotion that comes with that loss, the emotion of grief, is natural.
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Consider Jesus, he was fully God but he was also fully man, and in his humanity he felt the human emotion of grief. John 11 tells us that Jesus lost a very dear friend named Lazarus and verse 35 tells us that "Jesus wept." Now why did Jesus weep, he knew that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, he knew that Lazarus' death was not the final chapter? Jesus wept because he had lost a friend, even for a moment he had lost a friend, and loss brings grief.
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It is appropriate that we grieve the loss of Joe Fair; I would say that it is not only appropriate but important because it is part of the human experience. God has made us to grieve, we are not higher than Jesus, we are not better than Jesus, and in Jesus' humanity he wept. His life shows us the reality of grief.
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II. The Basis for Hope
But there's a second thought that we see in these verses, while we do grieve we do not grieve as others who have no hope. That is what Paul said in verse 13, "don't be ignorant, don't be uninformed, about those who are asleep (which means dead)." Paul was saying, "If you do not know what happens to those that die then you will grieve and have no hope. However, if you do know what happens to those that die then you still may grieve but you'll grieve and have hope." Thus, the second thought that we see in this passage concerns the basis for hope. What is the basis for hope for those that have fallen asleep or died? Paul told us in verse 14, "we believe that Jesus died and rose again." The way that people have hope in this life and the life to come is by believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When a person believes or has faith in Jesus' death and resurrection God saves them, He transfers them from a kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. This is what happened in Joe's life 10 years ago; God saved him and gave him eternal hope.
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Joe was always a moral and ethical man, he was a man that kept his word; he was also a compassionate man, I cannot imagine a better grandfather. But none of those qualities could provide him with hope for eternity, none of those deeds of character and life could save him and make him acceptable to God. What gave him hope and what made him acceptable to God was his faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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This passage's main concern is not the hope of those that have died, but the hope of those that are left behind. Paul was concerned about the people that remain, do they have hope because of Christ and do they have hope that they will see their loved ones again? The basis for hope has not changed; Joe trusted in Jesus and we must trust in Jesus if we are going to see him again. I don't think my grandfather would be pleased with me if I did not ask you, on this day, whether or not you have trusted in Jesus. Have you; do you have the hope that comes by believing that Jesus died and rose again?
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III. The Need for Comfort
Finally, these words are meant are meant to comfort us because in times like this we have a need for comfort. Thus, Paul said in verse 18, "Therefore encourage (or comfort) one another with these words." Paul was saying, "when someone is hurting and struggling with loss don't offer cliches, don't offer platitudes and meaningless words, don't tell them that God simply needed another angel in heaven...comfort them with 'these words.'" 'These words' are the words that there is a real and living hope for those for those that die. Pastor Bruce’s words were eloquent and meaningful but his words about my grandfather cannot give us ultimate comfort. In the days to come when you struggle with the thought of Joe's death and you need comfort it is entirely appropriate to think about the memories that you shared, those times that were special; but those memories cannot ultimately comfort. What will comfort you is the hope of Christ. Only ‘these words’ that point us to the death and resurrection of Jesus can comfort us in the time of our need. Only Jesus can comfort us in our need because only Jesus can save us from our sin.

Jeremy Fair is Senior Pastor of Arlington Presbyterian Church in Arlington, Texas. He can be reached by email at jeremy.fair76@gmail.com.