God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.Jesus said, … Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?
1 Corinthians 6:14; John 11:25.26

Very soon
James was a Christian. When he was stricken with a serious illness, he knew that death was very near. Whenever he spoke of the passing that would bring him into the Lord’s presence in paradise (Luke 23:43), he would say assuredly. “Very soon.” He was aware of that place beyond death, since He knew that there he would meet Jesus, to whom he prayed and who sustained him during his illness.

He is now with Jesus. Those who loved him know that he is together with his Saviour. His body has returned to dust (Genesis 3:19), but he will be resurrected, for James believed the Lord’s words: “He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25).

This “very soon” also applies to each one of us. God alone knows the exact moment when. He terminates our earthly life and brings us to our place beyond death. But to which one? Have you thought of that? For all who have accepted eternal life in Jesus Christ this life is transformed into a genuine, living relationship with God through the assurance of “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). This is precisely the view of faith that James had concerning his future since being bedridden.

“Very soon” is also the moment when Jesus will come to take all His own, His church, to glory. The dead in Christ will rise, like James; believers still alive on earth will be transformed. Their joyous hope is to go to “meet the Lord in the air” to “always be with the Lord”. (1 Thessalonians 4:16.17).

Today’s reading: Exodus 12:29-42 · Luke 5:27-39