¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

¹⁵ We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. ¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18

Dear God, there have been a few tragic deaths in our community over the last few weeks. The one of the 10-year-old boy about 11 days ago was particularly tragic. I don’t know if there is any comfort to be had for his parents and all of the family involved, but if there is, please give it to them. For the children who lost their mother to suicide about three weeks ago, please protect them and minister to them.

I’ve always wondered how Paul knew all of this. Where did he get this information? Did he continue to directly commune and communicated with Jesus? Did the Holy Spirit reveal it to him? The same with Peter when he talks about life after death stuff. Where did he get that information?

The truth is, I have no idea what exactly happens to us beyond death from the earthly world. I have no idea how your second coming works. My brain is too small. But here’s the thing: I don’t have to know. If I start focusing on the outcome of this life, then the outcome will become my idol. Your promise to Abraham through Isaac became his idol and he almost had to sacrifice Isaac to learn his lesson. For me, I want you to be my God. I want worshipping you in this moment to be what it’s about. Death and what comes next will be revealed to me in time. But right now it’s about being reconciled to you through Jesus and then living for you in this moment. So I offer that to you right now. I offer you happiness and peace in my ignorance. I offer you my worship. My faith is in you and I will let you do with me whatever you will from this time forward.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen