Let it comfort you when a loved one dies, knowing that all those who die in Christ will one day be together.

When Paul wanted to encourage Christians whose loved ones had died, this is what he wrote: “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. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thess. 4:17-18).  I love the word “together” in this verse. “Together” is the longing of our souls, isn’t it? We will be together with our loved ones with the Lord forever.  What an encouragement!

And when you see your loved one again, both of you will be transformed into the image of Jesus. This means that you will be able to love each other in ways that were never possible while in this life. In a sense, even love will be “resurrected” to its full potential and measure.

I miss my father very much, but I realize that he is communing with the Lord this Easter. Enjoying a feast with his father and his mother. I realize that one day we will all be together again, for eternity, without sorrow, without pain, without sickness, and without death. I long to see my father again, and I look forward to the day when I get to meet my grandfather. I will never forget the words my father spoke to me about a year ago. We were sitting in the living room, waiting through the commercials for our show to come back on, when he looked at me and said, “You would have liked your grandfather.”