Perspectives

1 Corinthians 15:51-58… 51) Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed 52) 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 53) For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54) 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. ” 55) “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? ” 56) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57) But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58) Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, 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. (NIV)

Seldom do I write to you folks about death. We always want to stay on the living side of things and not think too much about the dying side of things. But perhaps I should. The reason I say that, is because you and I often sit back and in silence wonder what is out there, what will happen when we die? One moment we are here, and the next moment we are in eternity. Thoughts like that can send shivers up our spine; even frighten us if we do not know the answer for one of life’s most perplexing mysteries. But really it should not frighten us.

Oh! I could tell you that I am so righteous and holy that for me there is no fear of death; that would be stretching the truth just a little. No sensible person dies without some form of uncertainty, some form of doubt that grabs our attention. What we need at this moment is some form of assurance from a higher power to calm our heart and soul, for the Bible does just that.

The Scriptures tell us that Adam, the earthly man, and all his descendants, “that is you and I” receive natural, earthly bodies. Christ, however, the man from heaven who came in a human body received a glorified, spiritual body following His resurrection. In the same way, our earthly bodies which now die, and decay are different from the bodies we shall have when we come back to life again for they will never again become sick and die; but they will be full of glory and strength. Our human bodies at death are weak and tired, but when they will come back to life they will be superhuman bodies.

The Bible teaches that an earthly body made of flesh and blood cannot get into God’s heaven. These perishable bodies of ours are not made of the right stuff; they are not the right kind to live forever. But at the resurrection, we shall all be given new bodies! It will happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet shall sound. For there will be a blast from this trumpet so loud that all the Christians who have died will hear… all who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour before they passed away will suddenly become alive with new bodies. Bodies that will never again get sick and old, bodies that will never again feel pain, bodies that will never again die; but listen, there is more. If you are still alive when this happens, your bodies will undergo the same change and it will happen faster then you can blink your eye.

Why do we fear death? Perhaps it comes from the fear of the unknown. But maybe it comes from the sense of sin. If we do not have the assurance of salvation in our heart, if we have never sought Christ’s forgiveness, then there will be this sense of sin that makes us fear meeting a Holy God. So long as we see in God only judgment, there will be no hope for us. But that is precisely what Jesus came to abolish. He came to tell us that God is love that we can go to him, not as a judge, but to a Father who waits for us to come home. Because of that, Jesus gave us the victory over death: Christ displaced the fear of death by demonstrating to us the wonder of God’s love… To God Be the Glory Great Things He Has Done.

Would you pray this prayer with me… “Lord Jesus, come into my heart? Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I do not have the peace in my heart that I yearn for. I really want that Peace, joy and happiness that will fulfill my heart’s desire. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will honor Your Name.” Amen.