Verse of the day: “To those who sleep in Jesus, God will bring them back with him” (1 Thessaloniki 4. 14?ARC).
Do not think that the soul sleeps in insensitivity. “Will you be with me in heaven today?” (Luke 23:43) is the whisper of our Lord to all believers who are at death’s door. They “sleep in Jesus”, but their souls are before the throne of God, worshiping day and night in his temple, singing hallelujah to the One who washed them from their sins with his blood. The body sleeps on its lonely bed of earth, under the blanket of grass. But what dream is it? The idea associated with sleep is that of rest. This is exactly the concept that the Spirit of God wants to convey to us. Sleep makes every night a moment of rest. The dream closes the doors of the soul and orders all intruders to wait a little, so that the inner life can enter its peaceful summer garden. The weary believer at work rests in peace like an exhausted child sleeping on his mother’s lap. Blessed are those who die in the Lord. They rest from their labors and their works follow them (see Revelation 14:13). Your peaceful rest will never be interrupted until God awakens you to give you the full reward. Guarded by angels who watch over them, hidden by eternal mysteries, the earthly bodies of believers sleep, until the fullness of time manifests the fullness of redemption. What an awakening they will be! They have been put in their final resting place, tired and weakened, but this is not how they will resurface. Believers have gone to rest with wrinkled faces and worn physical features, but they will rise in beauty and glory. The crested seed, devoid of shape and beauty, makes a beautiful flower emerge from the ground. The winter of the grave gives way to the spring of redemption and the summer of glory. Blessed be death, since, through divine power, it strips us of this common garment, to clothe us with the incorruptible wedding garment. Happy are those who “sleep in Jesus”.