All Who Sleep Will Arise Again !

[VERMAURICE BROWN]

All who sleep will arise again !

1 Corinthians 15:17-22
"And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."

When we lose a loved one in death, all memories of the past comes to us in sadness. We miss their voice, their mannerisms, and their expressions of love for us. The death of a loved one can be a very heart breaking and a sad time.
It is at times like these when we start to notice our own mortality. When we are reminded that there will come a time when we will also die.
Loved ones see biological life comes to an end and after that its over. They view death as the final end. For them death and the funeral service that follows are indeed very sad occasions.
But for the believer who dies in the Lord they just merely fall asleep because Jesus Christ has defeated death for us and when they awake they are in heaven. For the believing child of God death is not the end but a new beginning.

Yes God tells us “in Adam all die,” but God finishes the sentence with “in Christ all will be made alive.”
This is the promise we have from God. Physical functions may cease and life as we know it in this world may come to and end, but death is not the end for those who have faith.

God’s children shall not die but shall live forever. Jesus tells us: “Because I live, you also shall live.”
Jesus tells us “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

As death and the grave could not hold Jesus, so it cannot hold those who die trusting in him, trusting in Christ, “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
Because of Christ’s victory over death, our loved one's mortal remains that we place in the grave today will not remain there.

The day will come when Christ will return and raise all the dead including the body of your loved one. Death is defeated! Our hope is in the resurrection of the body when Jesus will return!

For the believer in Christ, a funeral service is a service of victory.
Even though you feel a great hurt and a great loss because a loved one has been taken away from you, yet you know that now he or she is with their Savior in heaven.

We might ask ourselves, "How can we be sure that they are in heaven?"
Well, they didn’t earn their way into heaven by committing good deeds and giving to charities.
They are walking beside their Savior not because they belonged to a church for their entire lifetime.
They are in heaven not because he or she was a perfect person.
They was a sinner just like you and me. But they was also a forgiven sinner.
Through Word and Sacrament they were assured that their sins were all forgiven for Jesus’ sake.
Through Word and Sacrament they came to know why death is in this world. They knew that all mankind is sinful from birth and our sinfulness separates us from God. But they also knew what God has done to remove our sin.

They knew that God has done everything for the salvation of our soul.
How God sent his one and only Son into this world to live the perfect life that God requires and then to pay the wages of our sin by his innocent death.
They believed in Jesus as their Savior and our faith in Jesus is why their soul is now in heaven.
Through Word and Sacrament they came to know and trust God’s word that says “In Christ all will be made alive.”
This is our resurrection hope, glorious, comforting and sure.
As death and the grave could not hold Jesus, so it cannot hold those who die trusting in him, trusting in Christ, “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Their soul is in heaven enjoying the blessings and glory that is in store for all believers. On the day that Christ returns their body will be raised from the dead and reunited with his soul in heaven.

Today is a sad time for we are saddened by the loss of a loved one. But do not grieve as those who have no hope rejoice because our loved one is now enjoying the promise God made to them. “Be faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life.” May you find peace of mind and spirit in all of God’s promises. Amen