Share your testimony and God’s love with those around you!
Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:18, “Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words [concerning our reunion with believers who have died].” What words? The context seems to indicate the comforting and encouragement coming from what Paul says in verses 13-17, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.”
Ray Comfort once said, “What if we could see on people's foreheads the word 'forgiven' or 'unforgiven?' Since death is such a fragile yet undeniably evident for all of us at some point in the future, wouldn't it be great to know if our loved ones, friends, acquaintances, neighbors, etc. had accepted the free gift of salvation offered to everyone by Jesus … or not?”
Would it change our response to people if we knew they were headed for an eternity apart from Christ, in a place of torment and solitude forever? Would we be bolder in sharing the truth in love with them while there's still time? Do we take for granted being forgiven of our sins due to the surrender of ownership of our lives we made, and the promise of an eternal future in a perfect place that is no longer under the curse of sin, and no longer subject to the relentless and ruthless attempts of our adversary Satan and his demons to distract us from God's plan for our lives?”
May our gratefulness for being saved encourage others to consider their own eternal destination!