“O Death, Where is thy Sting?”...the Wayfarer 11/1/13

“O Death, Where is thy Sting?”

11/1/13

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

(I Corinthians 15:55)

Back to the writings of Paul today, we go to take a look at why we bother to expound about an, as yet not accomplished future, as we face the constant pressures and problems of the present.

Often I am asked, Preacher why bother? What do you get out of what you do, what you say, and who you strive to be?

Honestly, there have been, and still are, many moments that I have to ask myself these same questions when facing the seemingly insurmountable disbelief of a society completely absorbed in the “now” and the “me”.

To borrow and paraphrase an old story about a preacher and an atheist, travelling on the same train, the question is not what I have to gain, but what you have to lose!

The old saw goes that the atheist asked the preacher about what he will have accomplished if everything he believes is wrong, and that there is nothing at the end of the journey as is believed by all atheists, who see life as a place to gain and experience all the pleasures that this world has to offer while they still have that life.

The concept is that the preacher’s life will have been wasted, and lived without the benefit of that pleasure, while the atheist will have attained all that matters to him for an eternity that he does not believe to exist.

In turn, the preacher merely answers, “What if I am right, and you are mistaken? What will you have lost?”

The answer to that question is the answer to the very purpose of our existence while we still breathe the precious air provided by a Creator, who intended from the very beginning for us to have an eternal existence, as does He, and to experience an eternal joy that is impossible to attain while still in this body.

Let’s go to Paul’s writings to get a better overview of why we should strive to make clear the rewards… and punishments that await all at the end of our journey.

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.”

(I Corinthians 15:19-23)

Death was never the original intent for this creature called man. Pain was not intended for that creature. None of the ills, trials, tribulations, or problems that exist, were part of the original plan for us.

All of the wars, pestilences, and evils that exist around us today came about because of the fact that God made us a creature capable of making choice for ourselves, and the choices that have been made by this creature who intentionally chose to become imperfect and continues to do so as time marches to a place on a plane known only to God when it will no longer exist for us.

Jesus was sent to provide a path back to the original place intended by our Creator, and a means to assure that the soul placed within this creature that is not perishable never have to face an eternity separated from the love and joy originally intended, but instead find and keep that love and that joy in an existence that has no physical limit.

In order to get there, because of the choices made, both by Adam, and all who have followed him, this creature must first divest itself of the imperfection that has been chosen.

Though I do not include the entire passage of this chapter, I urge the reader to consume and digest each and every word to acquire the entire point being made by Paul at its writing.

“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:

But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one and the terrestrial is another.

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”

(I Corinthians 15:34-44)

We exist, clothed in the confines of a corrupt and imperfect physical body, but also we exist as we were created in the image of God in the un-confineable spirit breathed into that body at birth by the Creator of the Universe, given a choice of destination for that spirit to be made while within the confines of that physical body.

We choose the seeds to be sown that must be buried in the soil beneath our feet to grow into the plants that eventually seek the presence of the sun to flower into either a beautiful and pleasant, and useful plant, or a spiteful, useless and worthless weed that must be cut down and burned to eliminate further seed from springing up.

In order for that plant to become viable and worthwhile, it must be nurtured, encouraged, aerated, and tended carefully until it reaches maturation. Only then are we assured of the quality of the seed and future plants produced.

This requires work. It requires attention. It requires love, that same love demanded by Jesus’ single commandment given all who follow.

“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

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.

Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

(I Corinthians 15:54-58)

    This then is why I choose to continue to preach the gospel, so long as I am capable of so doing. It is not my gain alone that matters, but the gain of all who take the time to listen. The rewards that await the spirit that inhabits this poor imperfect body are far more valuable than any that could ever be gained while still inhabiting it, and are meant to be shared by “WHOSOEVER” will do so.

I have nothing to lose, as I can take nothing physical with me when I depart this world.

I would leave you with the question of what YOU have to lose, or gain, and urge you to choose the gain instead of the loss that will be chosen by most in the glitter and glamour offered by a society dedicated to the physical existence, while forgetting the spiritual.

I Close once more, the same simple sinner saved by grace through faith in my Lord Christ Jesus, looking forward to the day that this corrupt and imperfect body be exchanged for imperfection and incorruption as promised by my God. I also remain a simple servant and soldier in service to Him until such time as I attain that promised new body, and the glory of the eternal presence of My God.

This remains granted only through the acceptance of station, and of His position, given though the sacrifice made by Him that I might attain a place in that presence remains foremost of importance, giving continued reason for any small effort He may ask of me to show others what is possible through Him alone.

2 Timothy 1:12 ¹²For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen
the Wayfarer