1 Cor 15:55-57 (NIV) "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.”
What is more dismal then the prospect of death? What is more depressing than the thought that our lives are nothing more than an infinitesimally tiny speck in the universe that briefly appears and then vanishes forever. Without God death is the most powerful force in the universe. Your life is no more meaningful than the life of a mosquito. Everything that you have done is doomed to go out of existence; can there be any ultimate significance? To what consequence is the world or man in the end? There can be no hope, no purpose for anything.
But God is real, and because He lives the loss of life no longer means that in death we become nonexistent. With God we have no fear of death, we have hope for eternal life, there is no longer despair because the good that comes from our lives will continue on in the next life.
However, because God is real then sin is also real. And as sinners we cannot live in the presence of a pure and holy God so we would still be doomed because death is once again our destiny. “But thanks be to God! who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Isaiah 53:5-7 the scriptures tell us how Jesus stole the victory away from sin and death. “He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter” and overcame death and the grave for us. Romans 5:18-19 explains it this way, Adam's one sin brought condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brought a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, all became sinners. But because one other person, Jesus Christ, obeyed God, all are made righteous.
What is there left for us to fear? Death no longer deprives us of our existence. The power of sin and death have been conquered, Jesus was victorious over both of them. Beyond that, He has restored meaning and purpose to our lives, we can now live for the same purpose He lived for, which was to love God with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:33.) Also to proclaim the good news to the poor, and to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness those who are in prison (Isa 61:1.)
Describe your feelings about death? Compare your feelings about death with the feelings someone without hope may have?
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