Alive - by Dave Smith

those who are still alive or have died ‘in Christ’.
I’ll never forget the day in August 2022, when my dad rang me in
floods of tears to say that mum had ‘gone’. Completely in shock, and
filled with deep grief, I told my wife, Karen, that I needed to go for a
walk to process the news. Within five minutes of leaving the house
these words came to my mind: ‘Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?’ (1 Corinthians 15:55). I immediately
knew this was the Lord speaking to me and reassuring me that my
mum – herself a Christian – was safe and would be part of the final
resurrection. It didn’t end my sense of loss, but it continues to bring
great comfort to me, whenever I think about her. This hope of future
resurrection means that, while we still grieve, in the words of Paul,
we ‘do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope’ (1
Thessalonians 4:13b).
Secondly, Paul highlights the great promise concerning the
resurrection of our bodies. This is our ultimate hope – not just
going to heaven ‘spiritually’ when we die but coming alive again
‘physically’ at Jesus’ return when ‘he will transform our lowly bodies
so that they will be like his glorious body’ (Philippians 3:21). This is
stunning. It doesn’t mean that we’ll all look like Jesus, a 33-year-old
Jewish male! Rather, our bodies will receive the same characteristics
as Jesus’ resurrection body. The language here is significant. Our
current bodies are described as ‘lowly’. We’re all too aware that no
matter whether we’re feeling physically strong and able, or are
suffering greatly with physical frailty, disability or pain, ultimately our
bodies now are still subject to decay, disease and death. Whereas at
the return of Jesus, we will, like him, receive glorious ‘new’
resurrection bodies.
Throughout the passages we’ve focused on, we have had glimpses