1 Thessalonians 4:13 “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”

It is okay to cry. When someone we love dies, it is okay to cry. And it is okay not to. Grieving is not bad. It doesn’t spoil things. Paul does not say, “Do not grieve.” He is saying, “Don’t grieve like those who have no hope.”

But there are perfectly good reasons to grieve when we say goodbye to those we love. We all do it differently. For some it may mean a flood of tears. For others it may mean we become unusually quiet instead of our usual chatty self. There is no right or wrong way. It is okay to grieve our loss.

Even for the Christian, death is tinged with the sadness of sin. It’s a reminder. The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. Everyone who dies is a sinner who could not save himself. So God gave us a Savior. And for us who grieve, that makes all the difference. That gives us hope.

There are those who lose the one they love, and all they have is memories. All they have is a legacy. Maybe they have some vague idea about a “better place.” God gives us Jesus. Christians who die are not just asleep. They are asleep in Jesus. “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”

Jesus knew about the sadness of death. At the funeral of Lazarus, Jesus was so overcome with emotion that he cried himself.

 But Jesus knew death even better than that. He experienced it. “We believe that Jesus died,” Paul writes. His body weakened. He struggled to breathe. His heart slowed, and finally stopped. He gave up his spirit.

All by itself, that fact doesn’t sound very hopeful. Paul assumes that we understand the relevance, the significance, for our hope. Since Paul doesn’t tell us this explicitly, let me give you some reminders. Jesus once told his disciples that he came to “give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus knew that his death was a payment, a payment that would set his people free. In his letter to the Ephesians Paul says, “We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins.” There is that idea of payment again, “redemption,” and death, “his blood.” And the freedom this all adds up to is the forgiveness of our sins.

Well, that’s hope, isn’t it–not a wobbly wish kind of hope, but a reason to be certain and optimistic about our future. God does not intend to hold our sins against us. He held them against Jesus, if you will, who paid all we owed with his own death on the cross. Jesus has set us free.

And then hope grows, “We believe that Jesus died and rose again.” Three days after Jesus died, he woke up! Death is not the end. In planning funerals, many family members have said to me, “Let’s make this a celebration of life.” Yes, let’s do that. And that celebration begins with the celebration of Jesus’ life, who left his tomb perfected and glorified three days after he died, and now lives and reigns in heaven forever and ever.

Jesus’ new life is the promise of our new life. “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus said, shortly before he brought Lazarus out of his tomb. “He that believes in me will live, even though the dies.”

Here is where hope reaches the top. “We believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” In the scenario Paul is describing here, Jesus decides to close the book on the history of this world before you and I die. And as he comes back to gather his own and judge the world, he brings those we have buried, and every other person who fell asleep in faith in Christ, with him. They will all be there at the resurrection. And so will we. And that body, will be restored to life imperishable, and incorruptible, fully fit for the eternity together that is waiting for us.