By David ReayTuesday 30 Nov 2021LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. (NLT)
In a small zoo in the USA, a visitor watched as a keeper entered the cage which housed a wildcat. He proceeded to sweep out the cage as the wildcat hissed and spat at him. The keeper exited the cage and the visitor asked him if he was afraid of that wildcat harming him.
“No mister, that wildcat doesn’t scare me. You see he is old, and he has no teeth. He can act all fearsome but he can’t hurt me.” A bit like how those who trust in Jesus see death. It stirs us up, it may disturb us. But in the end, it has no final power over us.
There are two dimensions to dying. One is the cessation of our bodily functions: our brains and our hearts fail. The other dimension is what we might call spiritual death: we become disconnected from God who is the source of life.
It is this second dimension that is “the sting” of death. By nature we are not able to enjoy the companionship of God who is the source of life. We at least partially enjoy this here on earth, but we are not able to coexist with the utter perfection of a holy God in the age to come.
This is where Jesus enters the scene. He allows us to share his perfection, his relationship with God, so that we can enjoy him forever. By offering us forgiveness, he removes the sting of death even if he does not remove the reality of physical death. That second dimension no longer threatens us. We die but we don’t stay dead. The enemy is toothless. Death is no longer fatal.
Blessings,
David