Is Death-Death?

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 MKJV

In light of what Jesus did for us on the cross, perhaps we need to go back and rethink the whole death issue. Because of His death, burial and resurrection we are no longer bound by death and the grave. Perhaps that experience would be better referred to as simply meeting the Lord...or passing into the hands of the Father.

That may take some getting used to...since the last time we saw Uncle Charlie was when we put him in the ground. We are aware that his spirit is with the Lord, but as far as we are concerned Charlie is still in the ground.

A pastor friend of mine went to be with the Lord a few years ago, but his wife never acknowledged his death. She acknowledged he left and is not coming back, but would never acknowledge that he died. Consequently she saw no reason to go back to her husband's grave. At the time, I thought she must be in denial or shock. My concern was that when the reality of her husband's death came it was going to be hard on her, since they had been married over forty years. It has been several years since her husband's death and she is still at peace while carrying on the ministry.

Perhaps she knew something practically that the rest of us only know in principle. I think it must be easier to teach this principle to others than it is to practice it yourself. The question still remains, "Is death really death?"

Father,

We are still learning how to practically walk out the benefits you have afforded us spiritually. Continue to be patient with us Lord as we experience things such as the death of a loved one. You told us in Ecclesiastes 3:4 that there was "A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance". Help us to live within that framework and not go to either extreme by allowing our flesh to control our emotions.

Amen.