Devotion 11.6.26

1 Thessalonians 4

The Coming of the Lord

13 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. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

I'm on the road with my wife. As we travel, I listen to various podcasts to not hear any newscasts on Sirius/XM or local stations as we travel. Today, I listened to Tim Keller, the Presbyterian minister whom I was introduced to by President Pastor Michael Newman in 2018 (Texas District LCMS President at the time) who said, "He should be an LCMS pastor."

In short, Pastor Keller notes that sex in our modern culture has become a god of sorts in that we seek it as a source for how we view ourselves. In that, we've exchanged our relationship with God with tangible things, like sex in our modern culture, because it makes us feel a sense of self-worth. (I shared the podcast last night in a separate email because it may be worth listening to if you have pre-teens or teens who are of that age where it - sex - is becoming part of their awareness. It contains a great deal of wisdom for you as a dad or soon-to-be dad.)

During his presentation, Keller says that God is supposed to be the object of our adoration, not women and sex that can accompany that relationship. That made me think of today's reading since I'd looked at it earlier before we started our drive today.

It's worth noting that Paul is giving hope to the church his letter by addressing life with Christ when we fall into sleep. What's this got to do with Keller and sex, you ask? Because we've exchanged the truth about God for lies (Paul in Romans 1). Satan patiently prowls around like a lion seeking to pounce at any moment (1 Peter 5). The truth God wants us to know is that he loves us to the point that he sacrificed his son for us. This truth includes the fact that we are to love him more than anything else in life with our entire being.

Paul is asserting that when we die, we find comfort in knowing we will be in Christ's presence, finally understanding what that love for him looks and feels like. Until that moment, we find our meaning and purpose from the hope Paul speaks of in this union with Christ when we fall into this sleep. We will all eventually join together, the living and the dead, to join up with Christ in eternity.

Pray with me: Gracious God, Heavenly Father, I confess I do not focus on you as you would wish. I do not find my significance in my relationship with you but instead I find it with earthly things/gods. Money, influence, power and other things distract me from my mission. Help me to seek you and you alone. Send your Spirit to give me strength when I am weak and to open my heart to your Word to see you in my daily walk. In Christ's name, Amen.