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.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 NIV
No Hope
Thousands of Canadians struggle with hygiene poverty. Basic items like soap, shampoo, and fresh linens aren’t just comforts—they’re essentials. Access to hygiene restores dignity, health, and confidence. The charity Hope for Soap Canada discovered that 81% of those they serve were forced to choose between food/housing and hygiene products. 65% of those served went without basic hygiene products more than 10 times in the past 12 months. Over half noted that their inability to have proper hygiene affected job opportunities and financial stability.
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The hope of eternity that Jesus provides is most evident at the graveside of a follower of Jesus. Grief is evident – it is part of human experience when life changes, we have no control over the change, and life will never be the same again. So, Christians grieve, but not like those who don’t have the hope of sins forgiven and eternity guaranteed that is the experience of those who love Jesus. The apostle Paul speaks to this in 1 Thessalonians 4:13: “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.” When a follower of Christ closes their eyes in death, they are not lost. They are not forgotten. They are not drifting in darkness. They are with Jesus. And because He rose from the grave, the cemetery is not a dead end—it’s a doorway. The grave could not hold our Savior, and it does not hold those who belong to Him. We grieve, yes. But we do so with the assurance that death has lost it sting because Jesus has conquered the grave.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley