The Last Enemy

READ: ROMANS 8:11, 22-23; 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18

Grief is the way we process when something very bad has happened. Death is the result of sin, and it is so bad that God’s Word calls it “the last enemy” (Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:26). Death is not the way it is supposed to be, and so grief is appropriate when death happens.

While we don’t know exactly what it will be like after we die, those who know Jesus can have peace because death is ultimately defeated in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Christians will be resurrected like Jesus and spend eternity with Him and in reunion with other believers (1 Corinthians 15:20-23; Revelation 21:1-5).

We will have made-new bodies, we won’t struggle with sin and all of its bad effects, and we will be able to love and serve God like we never have before (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). It will be wonderful!

So when loved ones who know Jesus die, you will still grieve that loss, but you can grieve with hope. • Aurora Scriver

• What are you most looking forward to about eternity with Jesus? What questions do you have about what it will be like?

• What are your favorite verses about the hope of the resurrection?

• What do you do when you are grieving? What helps you? What doesn’t?

• To learn more about how Jesus defeated death, check out our “Know Jesus” page.

And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:26 (NLT)