If you've grown up in the church like I have, you've heard those words many times. And, if you've had the same experiences in church, when the pastor started speaking this verse, amen's rose up all throughout the sanctuary, especially when they would say, "O death, where is your victory?"
But, I can tell you where the sting is...
It was in the face of my Grandma when her sweet husband passed away after a long illness in June.
It was in the face of a dear friend when her husband of 68 years breathed his last breath on her birthday.
It was in the cries of a 10 year old daughter upon finding her father on the floor after a massive heart attack.
It was in the shock of a new wife having to decide that the merciful thing to do for her husband is stop life support.
It was in the faces of a mother and aunt trying to tell the mother's children that their friend's father was very sick and not likely to make it.
It is in the anguish of four children who have already lost their mother to cancer and who are now losing their father.
It was in the pain of finding out that a dear resident from my time at the retirement home had passed away this week.
It is in the doctors and nurses who have to tell the families that their loved one is too ill to live.
It is in the policemen and chaplains who have to visit the home of some unsuspecting person to tell them their loved one passed away in an accident.
It is in each one of us. The sting of the loss...the excruciating pain radiating through your heart like a knife...the torrent of tears coursing down your face that doesn't seem to stop.
There, death...there is your sting.
Mortality has been a thought that I have not been able to avoid these past few months. And as my friends make the unbearable decision to let their husband/father go on Saturday, it is staring me down again. And it stings!
But, Death, you do not have the last say. You don't get to take away our memories. You don't get to rob us of all future joy. You will make an indelible mark on our lives, in our hearts. But yours is NOT the victory.
Friends, I beg you to reach out to the Lord. There is no greater joy than to know Him, to love Him and no greater peace than knowing that when Death makes his knock at your door, you will not join him in death, but you will join our Savior in eternity.
But, I can tell you where the sting is...
It was in the face of my Grandma when her sweet husband passed away after a long illness in June.
It was in the face of a dear friend when her husband of 68 years breathed his last breath on her birthday.
It was in the cries of a 10 year old daughter upon finding her father on the floor after a massive heart attack.
It was in the shock of a new wife having to decide that the merciful thing to do for her husband is stop life support.
It was in the faces of a mother and aunt trying to tell the mother's children that their friend's father was very sick and not likely to make it.
It is in the anguish of four children who have already lost their mother to cancer and who are now losing their father.
It was in the pain of finding out that a dear resident from my time at the retirement home had passed away this week.
It is in the doctors and nurses who have to tell the families that their loved one is too ill to live.
It is in the policemen and chaplains who have to visit the home of some unsuspecting person to tell them their loved one passed away in an accident.
It is in each one of us. The sting of the loss...the excruciating pain radiating through your heart like a knife...the torrent of tears coursing down your face that doesn't seem to stop.
There, death...there is your sting.
Mortality has been a thought that I have not been able to avoid these past few months. And as my friends make the unbearable decision to let their husband/father go on Saturday, it is staring me down again. And it stings!
But, Death, you do not have the last say. You don't get to take away our memories. You don't get to rob us of all future joy. You will make an indelible mark on our lives, in our hearts. But yours is NOT the victory.
Friends, I beg you to reach out to the Lord. There is no greater joy than to know Him, to love Him and no greater peace than knowing that when Death makes his knock at your door, you will not join him in death, but you will join our Savior in eternity.
“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. 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." I Corinthians 15:55-58
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