1 Thessalonians 4:18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

In the last part of this chapter, Paul writes about life and death. He encourages the Christians in Thessalonica that they need not grieve when someone dies. ‘Do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope’ (verse 13). The reason is that those who have ‘fallen asleep’ will be brought to life when Jesus returns. And they will then meet with those who are alive at the time. In other words, death is not the final station!

Paul concludes with the words: ‘encourage one another with these words’. When someone is grieving over a lost one in Christ, we can encourage them with these words. Of course the person will be missed. But not forever and ever. There will be a time when we will see them again!

The word ‘encouragement’ literally means ‘en’ (in) + ‘courage’ (God/heart). In other words, when you encourage someone you put a piece of God in their heart. The best encouragement is when we encourage with God’s words: encourage one another with these words.

Who can you encourage today?