One of the great joys of body surfing is being dumped by a big wave. It feels like you are caught in a washing machine, you are spun around, again and again until you don’t know what way is up. Your arms and legs are flung in all directions.

Sometimes you’re pinned to the bottom until the wave rolls over you. You then find your way to the surface for that breath of fresh air. Being dumped can leave you feeling beaten up and very disorientated but it’s fun.

However, it’s not so much fun when life leaves you feeling like that. When life spins you around and pins you to the ground. When life leaves you disorientated, beaten up and not knowing which way is up.

Sadly, it shouldn’t surprise us. The Bible tells us that we live in a skewed, broken, and disorientated world were death, disease and relationships break down reign. No wonder the future can seem bleak with very little hope on the horizon.

Well, Paul wrote the following words to people just like us who were struggling to find hope in a disorientated world. In chapter 4 of 1 Thessalonians he writes…

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

Paul says that there is hope. Firstly, there is hope because Jesus the king is alive. Jesus has risen from the dead and now reigns as king.

Yes, some days the hurt pins you to the ground. Some days we experience the brokenness of the world more acutely than others, however there is a great comfort to know that a good and love still reigns, even though I might not feel it right now.

Secondly, death is not the end of everything. Paul speaks of a day when all those who crown Jesus as king will live again. However, this time it will be different. It will be life the way it was meant to be. Life without the scars of this sinful and broken world. It will be life that keeps going and will not be again cut short by death.

This hope is our ultimate reality. This hope should shape and give meaning to the present. It re-orientates us; it shows us which way is up. But it does more.

This amazing hope also encourages us to take risks now, because you know that the future is secure. There is no need to spend all that time and energy on the impossible task of bringing security to the present. This hope frees us to live now, to enjoy each other and enjoy our creator.