O Death, Where Is Your Sting?

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where 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” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

For the elect of God, death has lost its sting forever because Satan’s power over it has been destroyed by Christ.  Because of this, we as Christians should stop being so afraid of it.  We need to be able to view it for what it truly is.  Unmask death, and it is nothing more than a glorious trip to our heavenly Home.  Death itself should hold no fear for the believer who is thinking correctly, that is, biblically.  Our words should reflect this truth at all times, and yet in Christian circles today, they seldom do.  

For many of us, life on earth may be our largest idol.  Death is too often spoken of by believers in much the same way that the world speaks of it.  Many of our funerals and memorials contain the same paralyzing sorrow and mourning as the services of those who have no hope (1 Thess. 4:13)!  This should not be.  It is not sad for the believer when he dies.  Yes, we who are left will miss our loved ones for a few short years, but the time we have to endure without them is so insignificant compared to the eternal life that awaits us, that it should be peripheral and…“not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18). 

When we live near the cross of Calvary, our thinking will be changed.  Death can be thought of with pleasure, with longing, and with intense anticipation.  It is sweet to die in Christ, as death is no longer banishment from God or exile from glory.  It is a going Home to the place where many of our loved ones already dwell and are awaiting our arrival.  However, if we make life in this world our idol, it will steal away the peace and tranquility of that blessed event.  John Owen spoke well when he said, “It is impossible to have a lively hope in another life, and yet be deeply immersed in the enjoyments of this.”  

The distance between those glorified saints in Heaven and those of us who remain is but a breath away at all times.  Heaven realized is but a heartbeat not heard.  We are not far from Home, loved ones.  Just a moment in time will bring us there …“absent from the body, present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8).  Do not believe that a long period of time accrues between the time of death and the entrance into eternal glory.  It is but a shutting of the eyes.  For when the eyes close on earth in one moment, they will open in heaven the next.  The darkness of this life will be instantly replaced by the glorious light of the sinless Savior (Rev. 22:5).  What then is there for us to fear in death?  Knowing that it is ordained by God (Psalm 139:16), and that the death of His children is precious in His sight (Psalm 116:15), we can have confidence that He will finish what He has started.  The glory of Heaven awaits us!

-C.L.