Perhaps the hardest part of the Christian life is dealing with suffering and death. In March 2019 my father was diagnosed with leukaemia. For sixteen months he quietly and bravely fought it, dealing with medical appointments, numerous hospitalisations and countless needles. Things of which he was never very fond. The medical care he received was excellent. What became apparent to us early on, was the importance of hope.
At the various stages in his illness when his doctors tweaked his treatment, they did so usually offering him the hope of ‘better days’. This hope was something Dad responded to, especially when it was coming from an expert source, “after all”, he said, “they are the experts, they understand the illness, they have the facts”. Even as his condition deteriorated and the focus of his doctors shifted to palliative care, they continued to offer hope, albeit no longer of recovery, and he accepted that because it was based on their knowledge.
However, there are limits to human hope and at lunchtime on the 2 July 2020, the GP called with Dad at home. He had the results of some blood tests, which indicated that his condition was out of control and he told Dad that he would die within a few days. There was no hope. Yet my father’s response to the news was impressive. Although he was frailer than we had ever seen him, he spoke with deep conviction of his hope. A hope based on what he knew of God. He said “it’s almost 70 years since I was converted and never did the Lord let me down and he won’t do it now.” He told my mother, “I know you will miss me when I am gone, but I will be with Jesus, just as he promised”. That was his enduring hope in the face of death. A few days later Dad passed away peacefully to be with the Lord.
More than wishful thinking
Throughout his illness my father’s acceptance of the hope being offered to him was dependent on the expertise of the one offering it. Hope, if it was going to be useful to him could not be just wishful thinking, but rather had to be based on sound knowledge. So it was with his hope in Christ, it too had to have a basis in fact. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, the apostle Paul writes to remind the believers of the hope that is theirs in Christ and of its sound basis in the events of Easter.
Following the death of some of their friends, the Thessalonian believers appear to have been struggling to make sense of their deaths. Somehow they seemed to have pinned their hope on the early return of Christ which would mean they would not need to face death. But death had visited them. To add to their confusion, they lived in a society which was hopeless when it came to death. So the apostle writes to remind them of the enduring hope of the gospel.
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For 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. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
Hope makes all the difference
The apostle recognises that both Christians and non-Christians grieve. However, the grief of the Christian is different, for he says, ‘we do not grieve as others who have no hope.’ Hope makes the difference. For the pagans in Thessalonica there was no hope in death, it was the end and there was nothing beyond. So when their loved one died they were lost to them, and every single thing that made them who they were, was gone forever. Whereas Christians, although they grieve the loss of their family and friends, do so in the hope of a better and more glorious future for them. That hope makes all the difference.
The Easter foundations of hope
But what is the basis of Paul’s hope? In verse 14 he tells us that this hope is the logical conclusion of the death and resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus died on Good Friday and was raised on Easter Sunday he broke the power of death. He did it not only for himself, but also for all who are united to him (Hebrews 2:14–15). The Thessalonians needed to understand the basis of their hope and realise that not even death severs the union of a believer with Christ. For in the moment of their death, believers are ‘away from the body and at home with the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:22-24). And for the believer this union with Christ remains unbroken even at the Second Coming when ‘God will bring with him those who are asleep’ (1 Thessalonians 4:14). On that day, the God who raised Jesus will unite the souls of the believers from heaven with their resurrection bodies in the new creation and they we will be with God for all eternity (1 Thessalonians 4:17). This was Dad’s enduring hope.
Hymns of the hope in our hearts
Dad had chosen two hymns for his funeral service. Sadly, because of the restrictions due to the pandemic we were unable to sing these hymns which expressed Dad’s great hope in the Lord. The first hymn was ‘How deep the Father’s love for us’ and the second was ‘In Christ alone my hope is found’. The final verse of that hymn speaks so eloquently of the enduring hope all believers can have as a result of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Do these words express your hope?
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
this is the power of Christ in me;
from life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
can ever pluck me from his hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
Rev David Irvine is minister of Trinity Ballymoney congregation. You can access more Easter blogs and resources here.