When Death Reigns
As a church family we have been feeling more than our fair share of the pains of death. In the last few weeks we have had to say, “Good-bye” to four people who were close to our hearts. Carol Ramey, Margret Howell, Ruth Dodridge and Kay Coriell were each unique individuals, all with different circumstances surrounding their deaths, each at various stages of their lives, and all of them had diverse types of family structures. The one common thread they shared were the saints of Sciotoville Christian Church and the blood of Jesus that held us all together.
When we begin to take stock of the saints whom we have lost, we can begin to get a bit discouraged. We may begin to waiver in our faith, and some may even falter under the burden of loss. Let us not lose heart, however. This sting that we feel is not permanent, nor is it so overwhelming that we cannot make it through. This sting is not so severe that we lose our faith and standing with God. Nor should this sting be totally ignored.
The Apostle Paul acknowledges death’s ability to hurt us, but not to destroy us: 1Co 15:50-58 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 1Co 15:50-58 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
We are not a people who will labor in vain! We are not a people who can throw in the towel when death comes. No, rather I would say we are a people who can rest under the burden of death, because death has become nothing to those who live in the light of our Lord! Be faithful to the Lord and laugh in the face of death!…because He still lives, Jason
22.07.2008. 10:45
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