To see Jesus will be heaven’s greatest joy.

与耶稣相会是天堂最大的喜乐。

We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8

我们坦然无惧，是更愿意离开身体与主同住。-哥林多后书5章8节

Henry Durbanville, a Scottish pastor from another era, told the story of an elderly woman in his parish who lived in a remote part of Scotland. She longed to see the city of Edinburgh, but she was afraid to take the journey because of the long, dark tunnel through which the train had to pass to get there.

好几世纪前，一位名叫亨利·德班维的苏格兰牧师曾经提到，在他的牧区里，有一位住在偏远地区的老姐妹，很渴望亲眼看看苏格兰的首府爱丁堡。但她迟迟不敢踏上旅程，因为火车必须经过一个又黑又长的隧道，才能抵达目的地。

One day, however, circumstances compelled her to go to Edinburgh, and as the train sped toward the city, her agitation increased. But before the train reached the tunnel, the woman, worn out with worry, fell fast asleep. When she awoke she had already arrived in the city!

然而，有一天，她因为有要事不得不去一趟爱丁堡。随着火车疾速往城里飞驰而去，她愈发坐立难安。但是在火车穿越隧道之前，这位老姐妹就因太过忧虑而疲惫地睡着了。当她一觉醒来，已经抵达爱丁堡了！

It’s possible that some of us will not experience death. If we’re alive when Jesus returns, we will “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:13–18). But many of us will pass into heaven through death and for some that thought causes great anxiety. We worry that the process of dying will be too difficult to bear.

我们当中也许有些人不会经历死亡。如果耶稣再来时，我们还活着，我们就会“在空中与主相遇”（帖撒罗尼迦前书4章13-18节）。但我们多数人将透过死亡进入天堂，有些人为此感到极度焦虑，担心死亡的过程会令人难以承受。

With the assurance of Jesus as our Savior we can rest in the confidence that when we close our eyes on earth and pass through death, we will open our eyes in God’s presence. “One short sleep past we wake eternally,” John Donne said.

 因有耶稣作我们的救主为确据，我们可以很有把握地相信，当我们在世上阖上双眼，经历了死亡，等到我们再次睁开双眼时，便已经与上帝同在了。正如英国诗人约翰·多恩所言：“死亡如同小睡，醒来就是永生。”

I love the life You’ve given to me, Lord,

yet I wonder what it will be like to see You personally. 

Help me to trust You with the future. 

I look forward to that day when I meet You.

 主啊，我热爱祢赐予我的生命，
但我也好奇与祢面对面的景象。
帮助我确信祢永生的应许，我期待与祢相会的那一天。

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18New International Version (NIV)

Believers Who Have Died

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. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are leftwill be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

帖撒罗尼迦前书 4:13-18Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified) (CUVMPS)

为信徒死了的安慰话

13 论到睡了的人，我们不愿意弟兄们不知道，恐怕你们忧伤，像那些没有指望的人一样。 14 我们若信耶稣死而复活了，那已经在耶稣里睡了的人，神也必将他们与耶稣一同带来。 15 我们现在照主的话告诉你们一件事：我们这活着还存留到主降临的人，断不能在那已经睡了的人之先。 16 因为主必亲自从天降临，有呼叫的声音和天使长的声音，又有神的号吹响，那在基督里死了的人必先复活， 17 以后我们这活着还存留的人必和他们一同被提到云里，在空中与主相遇；这样，我们就要和主永远同在。 18 所以，你们当用这些话彼此劝慰。

整理：于姊妹