Not only on one occasion was Jesus' statements misunderstood. We read in yesterday's devotional how his "temple" was misinterpreted as a physical building. And today, it's "sleep" they heard when he meant dead.

Jesus bade his disciples to return with him to Judea to wake his friend, Lazarus, who had fallen asleep. But they objected. "...only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you...", they said, "Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!". Seeing they did not descern his words, "he told them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead'" (Jhn.11:14 NLT).

Thank God Jesus was there to interpret his words to them. We also often fall victims of misunderstanding God's word; hearing one thing when He meant the other. For example, He might say, "wait! Not yet", but all we hear may be, "No". We must therefore rely soley on the Holy Spirit, the revealer of the truth, to hear and understand exactly what God's word means.

The implication of Jesus' statements above on us was captured in Paul's first letter to the Thessalonian church. "And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died" (1 These. 4:13-14 NLT).

Dear brethren, there is hope for us; physical death is mere sleep from which we would awake when Jesus return. It's a privilege only for those who would keep the faith till the end; there is no resurrection for those who sleep without Christ.

Jesus obeyed the Father to the end; when he died, the Father raised him. Lazarus was loved by the Son; when he died, the Son raised him. If we keep the Father's faith in the love of the son, through the power of the Spirit, we will live with Him forever. Amen.

PRAYER: Father, help me to keep the faith till the end, so that I can partake of the resurrection on the Lord's return.

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