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1 Thessalonians 5:17 – Grieving with Hope
Many funerals have I attended within the last couple of years, including my mother’s. There is a part of me that experiences guilt because of the felt grief. For those who have lost ones, you know the hope of the resurrection. But let me share a thought that is hopefully comforting.
Notice what Paul does not say,
“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve….” (CSB’17 1 Thessalonians 4:13). That is not the end of the sentence. Thematically it is possible that when Paul says, “so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope” that Paul is saying Christians don’t grieve at the death of believers due to the resurrection. Thematically that works, but does that fit even the example of Jesus in John 11 when He wept?
Being human is also a part of the theme and experience. So here is my conclusion. We do grieve. It is not selfish to grieve. Nor is it weak or unreasonable. We do grieve but not like the rest. They grieve without hope. We grieve with hope, with expectations of a resurrection, with the example of Jesus who grieved death too, but in hope!
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