1 Corinthians 15:35-58

In the previous piece I made a somewhat wild statement. It’s quite natural to be a bit afraid of a new body; it’s natural to be afraid of the unfamiliar. No, we know we’re going to heaven, but we don’t really know what will happen there and uncertainty brings with it a certain amount of fear.

Yes, uncertainty always causes some stress. We want to know exactly what is going to happen to us. Filmmakers know this as well and that is why they develop the tension so that we don’t know what is around the next corner. But the music picks up and you just know something is going to happen. Your heart starts beating faster and when the bomb explodes you give a little scream and sit petrified in your chair. Just because something unexpected was waiting around the corner.

So, we can be a little afraid of life after death. No, actually not for life after death, but of the transition, leaving your loved ones and crossing over. Fortunately, Paul provides some consolation about death: 54Then the saying will come true: “Death swallowed by triumphant Life!  55Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?”

In the army I was in the infantry division, which meant that we fought in a Ratel, a wonderful vehicle, as strong as an ox, which could drive more or less over any terrain. It was a steel house on wheels and we felt very safe. The steel would keep everything out, or so we thought. That was until one day we drove past a Ratel that had been hit by an RPG-7 anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade. A small hole in the side, but everyone inside was dead. The remainder of my time on the border I felt seriously unsafe, because what if we met someone holding an RPG-7?

However, when it’s a matter of faith, a matter of God, there is a guarantee that the enemy has been conquered. The power of the enemy has been destroyed. The bullets have been removed from the rifles, thrown in a heap and destroyed. The fire in the RPG-7’s anti-tank rockets has been completely extinguished. Death’s sting has been removed, because Jesus has won the fight: 57But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!

We are winners, because our older brother, Jesus, has won. We can share in his feast and feel safe. Yes, even though we feel a bit uncomfortable about death, because we don’t know precisely what is going to happen, we can still sleep well. We can walk the streets of the world in safety and know that we’re covered, because death has no influence in our lives any more.

Let’s live like winners. Let’s walk through the world and tell those people who are so afraid or who are living as if everything will end here that we’re members of the winning team. Let’s live as victors and go make a difference.

Reflection

Are you a little bit afraid of death?

Do you believe that Jesus has conquered death?

Do you live as if you believe it?

Prayer

Lord, I am so grateful for everything that You’ve done for me! I’m so grateful that You have conquered death and that we can now be winners with You. Forgive me when I’m sometimes still a bit afraid of what will happen after this. I want to live like a victor and make a real difference. Amen