Where Is The Sting?

08/23/2010

Good Morning!

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 (English Standard Version)
Mystery and Victory

50I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

"Death is swallowed up in victory." 55 "O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Several of our readers have experienced the death of a loved one in the last few weeks. Nothing can really prepare us for this eventuality – and going through the grieving process can often be a lonely, difficult time. And grieving is a process – a long term process that one doesn’t easily “get over” or “get beyond”.

There are two things that a believer in Jesus Christ can be assured of in this process: (1) death is separation and (2) that separation is temporary. You see, Jesus tells us plainly that we have everlasting life. I take that promise to heart – and believe sincerely that when my earthly sojourn is complete, I may be separated from my body, my family, my friends – but never, ever, from my Savior. When I take my last breath here, I will awake in the sweet arms of Jesus, my Lord. So, yes, I am separated – but only for a moment.

Separation is temporary. Again, I believe the Bible when it says that a moment in God’s kingdom is as a thousand years – and vice versa. So what does this mean to me – as the deceased? It means that I will have just arrived in Glory when all of my loved ones will rejoin me. When I think about this, I remember that Grandma Ward outlived Granddaddy Ward by thirty-seven years. Do you realize that 37 years is a blip in terms of eternity? It’s hardly worth mentioning. Now Grandma missed Granddaddy every day of those thirty-seven years – but now she and he are together again. This reminds me that, as a friend of someone who is experiencing grief, I should remember to be available to listen, to care, and to share time with my friend.

So, when Paul asks where the sting of death is, he quickly points out that we have been given victory over death. And while that doesn’t lesson the heartache or the missing of a loved one, it does give us confidence that our separation is not forever. And I think that is a good thing to know on this Monday.

Agape’

Mr. Jim