"For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him."
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
I love the hopefulness here. In the verse previous to this, it asks us to have hope, and these are the reasons. Because God hasn't decided to hate us and he doesn't want us to suffer. What he *has* planned for is our salvation. And Christ died, not so that he could guilt-trip us into doing things his way... but because we really needed it. It was our only chance of being able to live with him forever... and he *wants* that. He wants to live with *us.* Which seems crazy sometimes when we think of our little selves compared to everyone and the universe... but it is absolutely true. He loves us, individually, more than we can even imagine, and he wants a personal relationship with us all, and for us all to come back home after this life.
We yearn so much for God, but I don't think that we really realize and understand how much he yearns for us as well. All of this--creation, life, everything--is for us... so that we can learn and grow and become the people we hoped to be, and prepared ourselves for an afterlife where we can be together, reunited, and find joy with him... all of his children restored to him, and joined together as a gigantic family. :)
Another super cool thing here is the phrase "wake or sleep," meaning, I think, in life or in death. That means that we don't have to wait. Unity with God is something we look forward to after this life, but it is also something that we can work for, and have, in this life, if we strive for it.
Today, let's strive. :) Let's love God as much as he loves us. Let's do everything we can to learn and to be able to return to him again.
Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him."
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
I love the hopefulness here. In the verse previous to this, it asks us to have hope, and these are the reasons. Because God hasn't decided to hate us and he doesn't want us to suffer. What he *has* planned for is our salvation. And Christ died, not so that he could guilt-trip us into doing things his way... but because we really needed it. It was our only chance of being able to live with him forever... and he *wants* that. He wants to live with *us.* Which seems crazy sometimes when we think of our little selves compared to everyone and the universe... but it is absolutely true. He loves us, individually, more than we can even imagine, and he wants a personal relationship with us all, and for us all to come back home after this life.
We yearn so much for God, but I don't think that we really realize and understand how much he yearns for us as well. All of this--creation, life, everything--is for us... so that we can learn and grow and become the people we hoped to be, and prepared ourselves for an afterlife where we can be together, reunited, and find joy with him... all of his children restored to him, and joined together as a gigantic family. :)
Another super cool thing here is the phrase "wake or sleep," meaning, I think, in life or in death. That means that we don't have to wait. Unity with God is something we look forward to after this life, but it is also something that we can work for, and have, in this life, if we strive for it.
Today, let's strive. :) Let's love God as much as he loves us. Let's do everything we can to learn and to be able to return to him again.
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