My Dad passed away unexpectedly last week and our family was not ready for this great loss. The events that followed unfolded like a torrential wave with many hard decisions, funeral arrangements to be made, and interactions with many family and friends whom we don’t regularly see. As anyone who has lost a loved one can attest, the experience can be taxing physically as well as emotionally draining. On top of the physical and financial arrangements, the family deals with the grief and sorrow that accompanies it all.

One verse that kept coming to mind through this past week was 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and the promise that we “sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” This is an important point to consider if you are going through the loss of a loved one that knew the Lord. This verse tells us that there are two ways to be sorrowing – either WITH hope or WITHOUT hope. Even though we weren’t ready for my Dad to go so soon, we know that He was prepared to go at any time. His hope was in the Lord. He knew Jesus Christ as Savior and was confident in the promise of Scripture that “to be absent from the body” is to be “present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Because of this, we are able to sorrow with hope.

Now the idea of biblically-based hope is often misunderstood in our language today. Oftentimes, a “hope” is confused with a “wish”. For instance, you might “hope” that you win the lottery (even though you shouldn’t be playing it – but that’s for another blog). You might “hope” that you can retire with enough money. You might “hope” in any number of things that you wish you could have, but have no confidence that you will ever receive. Biblical hope is different. The hope of the Bible is based on the assurances and promises of Scripture. We understand that hope is a claim for our future, grounded in God’s character, which offers a confident perspective for our present reality. This hope in the future is realized within us through faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1).

So, if you have a loved one who knew the Lord as Savior, you will surely sorrow – but you don’t have to sorrow without hope. That hope is realized through faith in what God has promised to all who believe – that they will forever be with Him. Applying this understanding of hope to your own situation, I’d like to a couple of suggestions:

1. If your loved one was sure of their eternal home, do you know for sure about where you will spend eternity? If you don’t know for sure, then you don’t have the hope that you will see your loved one again. You need to place your faith in Christ. The Bible wants to be sure about this critical and personal decision that you need to make.


2. No matter what age you are – if you know the Lord as your Savior – have you told your friends and family about your assurance? One thing that is true for every one of us – we don’t know our tomorrows. Keeping your faith to yourself is the most cruel thing you can do. You should want them to have the same hope for eternity that you have.

As a Pastor, I have often seen people trying to deal with the sorrow of death without hope. It is hard to help people who have no assurance of what has happened to their loved one and have no assurance of their own destiny either. The only hope I can offer for these folks is to point them to the only source of hope - Jesus Christ. I don’t know how someone deals with their grief without hope that rests firmly in the Lord. No, it will never be easy, you probably will never be ready to see a loved one die, and it often comes unexpectedly – but you can be prepared. You don’t need to sorrow as someone who has no hope. Come to Christ and get prepared. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2). If I can help you in any way, don’t hesitate to drop me a note at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..