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. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

I Thessalonians 4:12-13

Yesterday morning, Patrina and I woke up to the news that a good friend of ours passed away after a long battle with brain cancer. We think of the loss of a wife and mother and sister and what lies ahead, but inevitably our minds turn to what happens next and so we turn to the words of Scripture including the verses above.

We have hope. Notice that our hope is rooted in the idea we discussed yesterday. Because jesus died and rose again, we can expect those believers who pass before us to be raised as well.

For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

In the midst of our pain, there is a real hope.