In verse 17 Paul writes that "we who are still alive and left will be will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air."
The early christians thought Jesus was coming back very soon, like any day. And they were worried about those christians who were dying before he returned. Were they doomed if they died before he came back? Paul eases their anxiety and promises that they will be resurrected.
This letter was written very early in Paul's ministry, it may even be the first book written in the New Testament. When Paul believed Jesus was coming soon.
But Jesus didn't come. And Paul died. And all the members of the church in Thessalonica died.
And so the words that Paul wrote to them were wrong... they didn't float away and meet Jesus.
All that worry and it didn't happen.
People nowadays bring these words back to life by saying that it will be us who floats away. (It might be, but probably not)
But it seems to me like people were worried about something that didn't happen, instead of worrying about the here and now.
If Jesus came today would he want to find you waiting with your bags packed like a taxi driver picking someone up? Or would he want to find you doing something that mattered, like inviting someone to church or feeding the poor or standing up for the oppressed?
When Jesus is ready to come, he will.
Let's not worry about what we can't control. There is too much to do be done.
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