Salonika 4 -- "Now I lay me down to sleep."

A long time ago, folks used to teach their children little rhyming prayers, such as this one, to be said at bedtime:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Hmmm ... I guess folks used to live more closely with death in those days. It would not cross my mind to comfort my children's souls by reminding them of their mortality every night!

Still, let's look at the words of comfort Paul gave the folks at Salonika:

1Th 4:14 İsa'nın ölüp dirildiğine inanıyoruz. Aynı şekilde Tanrı, İsa'ya bağlı olarak gözlerini yaşama kapamış olanları da O'nunla birlikte geri getirecektir.

We believe that Jesus rose from the dead. In the same way, we expect our God to resurrect those who gözlerini yaşama kapamış -- a lovely Turkish idiom that means their eyes / upon life / have closed.