The Shout That Wakes the Sleeping

"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." — 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14
 
Have you buried someone this year that you can't stop thinking about?
 
Some of you have lost a spouse. Some of you have lost a mom or a dad. And some of you have had to do the hardest thing a parent can ever do. You buried a child, and it feels like everything is upside down, because they were supposed to bury you.
 
Paul doesn't tell you not to grieve. Grief is real, and Jesus wept at a graveside. But Paul says you don't have to grieve like people who have no hope.
 
Listen to how the Lord will come. The Bible says He'll descend with a loud command. In the Greek language, that's the very word a charioteer would shout to his horses: "Go!" If you're from Texas, you'd say, "Yah!" It's also the word used for someone calling out the cadence to men rowing a boat, keeping them all together. It's loud, and it's distinct, and nobody is going to miss it.
 
And who hears it first? The dead in Christ will rise first. The ones you laid in the ground will be the first to answer that shout. The grave can't hold a child of God when Jesus says "Go!"
 
Then those of us who are still alive will be caught up together with them. You don't even have to wait to get to heaven to see them again. If they knew Jesus, you'll meet them in the clouds.
 
I've never been to a family reunion. My family just never did that. But I'm looking forward to this one.
 
If your heart is heavy today, bring that grief to the One who died and rose again. Tell Him you miss them. Then lift your eyes and listen, because one day soon there's going to be a shout.