阅读经文 

雅各在与神的关系上经历了更新，但这并不意味着生活对他来说变得容易了。在他返回家乡的头几年，雅各经历了失去爱妻拉结和他父亲以撒的悲痛。死亡是活在世上的每个人的现实。即使我们最亲密的人际关系也不能免受其影响。或许在你读到这里时，生命中正因为失去最爱而感到空虚。即使是仰望神的人，也难免悲伤。它表明逝去的人对我们很重要。但悲伤并不是结局。雅各继续活在神应许的盼望中，当他与和好的哥哥共同经历父亲逝世的悲伤时，他经历到了亲密关系带来的安慰。

然而，神赐给跟随基督信徒的是更大的盼望。因着耶稣的死而复活，我们相信神也会使在基督里死去的人复活。（参帖前 4:13-18）我们会悲伤，但我们同时是在神应许的盼望中前进的人。愿你今天也有这样的盼望。

Jacob had experienced renewal in his relationship with God, but that did not mean life became easy for him. In the first years after his return home, Jacob experienced grief from the deaths of his beloved wife, Rachel, and of his father, Isaac.

Death is a reality for everyone living in this world. Even our closest human relationships cannot be shielded from its power. Perhaps, as you read this, you have an empty place in your life left by the death of a loved one. Grief is natural, even for people who have put their hope in God. It signifies that the person who has died was important to us.

But grief does not have the last word. Jacob continues to live in the hope of God's promise, and he experiences the comfort of human relationships as he shares the grief of Isaac's death with his reconciled brother.

But God has given even greater hope for believers who follow Christ. Because Jesus has died and risen again, we trust that God will also raise those who have died with faith in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). We may grieve, but we grieve as those who move forward in the hope of God's promise. 

May that hope be yours today as well.