The sting of death

One of the hardest things we all go through is watching someone fade away from this life into eternity, it is hard to watch a loved one prepare for death, it is hard to see them suffer and not be able to do anything to help or change the situation. It is just as hard when we lose someone unexpectedly, to a tragedy or health reasons, or age, we are never prepared for death even though we know it comes, it is a curse upon this world and all who inhabit it.

God’s word tells us that the sting of sin is death, we the living feel the sting when we lose a loved one, it hurts even as Christians when we know they are in heaven in the presence of the Lord.

But our hope is not in this life, it is in Christ.

It is okay for us to grieve, to ask for peace, strength and wisdom from the Holy Spirit who knows we are hurting, we should turn to Him for our comfort, and help, for He groans our prayers to God our Father when we don’t know what to pray.

God knows our pain, He is the only who can and will understand all we go through, let Him speak to us as only He can.

Jesus broke the curse of sin and death, and because He lives, we live for He is the resurrection and the life, and He is in us, we are in Him and He is in the Father and God’s word tells us we have the victory over these things only because of Jesus.

It is hard around the holidays when we celebrate, when there are empty spots around us where loved ones used to sit, we feel that sting again, this year ask God who made the world and everything in it, who gives everyone life and breath, to fill that painful sting with His grace, hope, and love.

Let us give thanks and rejoice in the fact that we had such loved ones in our lives and now they are with Christ, where we all long to be, they no longer suffer, they no longer age, they no longer are burdened by this world, they are free indeed.

Our faith, our hope our promise of love and life eternal are not in this world which is perishing, they are only in Christ Jesus who is alive!

Let us give thanks and praise God's holy name for He is good.

God’s word says this:

“So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11:3-4 CSB

“Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her. Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:23-26 CSB

“But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be abolished is death. For God has put everything under his feet. Now when it says “everything” is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception. When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

But God gives it a body as he wants, and to each of the seeds its own body. Not all flesh is the same flesh; there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones. There is a splendor of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; in fact, one star differs from another star in splendor. So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:20-28, 38-49, 51-58 CSB