Listen

Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about people who have died so that you won’t mourn like others who don’t have any hope. Since we believe that Jesus died and rose, so we also believe that God will bring with him those who have died in Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Think

A lot of the time when we’re reading the Bible, Jesus can seem so entirely unlike us. After all, we worship Jesus. We talk about Jesus having the “name above all names” (Philippians 2:9). We may find ourselves struggling to live up to Jesus’ teaching and his calls to love. All of this, combined, can sometimes make Jesus feel distant and very far above us.

These two verses remind us that our fate is intertwined with the fate of Jesus, as different from us as he might seem. Jesus’ death and resurrection were not a solo project. As this passage explains, Jesus dying and rising opens up life for others.

When you study the life of Jesus in Scripture, do you see yourself as separate from it or as part of the story? As you read, reflect, and pray, always consider that it is Jesus’s intention to bring you along on the journey with him.

Megan McDermott

Pray

Jesus, bring me with you – to the places and people where your love is present, and one day, to life everlasting. Amen.

Go

Are you ready to love? Serve? Give? To seek joy in tough moments?

Go, and find out.