Verse: ‘For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit’, (1 Peter 4:6).
During this time of the year, one of my favourite months in our calendars, I – like countless others all around the globe – find it especially useful to bring my mind back to mortality and my dearly departed loved ones. This time of year can be especially hard for those who grieve hard and for whom memories of loved ones bring back pain and for them, as always, I will pray and hope that one day that pain will fade and the loving-kindness of cherished recollections will flourish instead. I find it interesting to begin my meditations with scripture, the contested verse that describes Christ’s reason for journeying to the underworld is especially titillating as there are various notions which have been derived from it over the years. Seemingly minor verses such as these can often be overlooked in favour of reading with a focus on the Gospel or other juicier sections of the Bible, but it is snippets such as these that are fundamentally crucial when it comes to forming our own theology. In my opinion, the most interesting is that held by those who believe it is evidence that He went down into the underworld to preach the word of God to those who had already passed away without hearing the message of salvation. This verse is 1 Peter 4:6.
For myself the imagery alone in that idea is something that I find truly uplifting. A question as old as Christianity must be what happens to those who did not hear the preaching, the sermons, the lectures … The Good News that is Gospel? In this verse we can read and understand that all people throughout creation have the opportunity to be saved, not just the fortunate few who have heard the message in their lifetimes. This was especially important during the rise of Christianity as if the message of salvation could only be understood and accepted by those currently alive, then countless millions were destined to an unfortunate fate simply because of ill-timing and scheduling of life on Earth. With Christ there is hope, and while we as Christians know a certain amount about His life on Earth; his mission, his ministry, his healing, we do not know much at all about exactly what he did during those three days in the underworld. For me personally, this is a fascinating thing to muse upon during my reflections in the late evenings of October. Let us find comfort in the knowledge that God cares and deeply loves everyone, either living or departed, and that we too can feel cared for no matter what our future holds for us, as can those we love, and those we miss.
