July 3

Not Dead, but Sleeping

He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but asleep.” — Mark 5:39 BSB

Christians shouldn’t grieve like others do. Christ has brought the truth of eternal life into the light. We should get used to the Christian view of death. Christ wrote no brighter lines than those He wrote over the believer’s grave. We ought to learn to see death as Christ teaches it. Sadly, many Christians haven’t fully embraced the blessing of Jesus’ victory over the grave. In the story of raising the ruler’s daughter, we see how Jesus wants us to think about death.

When we mourn for our dead, He says, “They’re not dead, but sleeping. Why are you making this bitter lament?” Our Christian loved ones have only passed out of our sight. They haven’t stopped existing. Even their bodies are only asleep. And just as a mother calls her children in the morning and wakes them up, so Christ will one day call all who sleep in Him from their graves.

Sleep isn’t a terrible thing; it restores and refreshes the tired body. So, the sleep of death is a time of rest and renewal. The raising of this child shows what Christ will do for all His people at the end—He will reunite loved ones and heal broken families.

But there’s one difference between this miracle and the final resurrection. This young girl returned to her old life, with its struggles, temptations, and sorrow, and she would die again. In the final resurrection, believers will rise to a new, glorious, and eternal life, without sorrow or sin, full of joy and blessing.