Yesterday we went to Lakewood cemetery to get a dose of sobriety and hope.  It is humbling seeing the thousands of lives gone before, most of them already forgotten.  For us, it is also hopeful knowing that although we too will die, this is not the end.  For many who lay there, the life they lived was the best it got and now they look forward to nothing good.  For others, the life they lived was the worst it got and now it only gets better.

A beautifully manicured cemetery

As we surveyed the beautiful landscape, we both were impacted by the overwhelming power of death.  We all die.  You will die. Most of you reading this still are in denial of that simple fact.  You will die.  Maybe you need to take a trip to a cemetery to let that sink in.

And the Bible tells us that death came into the world because of sin (Rom. 5:12).  All those lost lives because of sin… the simple sin of Adam and Eve disobeying God.  And today, sin continues to wreak havoc in our lives and lead us to death.

The Bible totally reframes how we view this life.  In our society, we treat sin lightly but fear death.  But God wants us to treat sin heavily and gravely, but, for Christians, to take death lightly.  The Bible assures us of our victory over death through Jesus Christ.  Jesus said:  ”Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death” (John 8:51).  He made sure to say TRULY, TRULY; repeating a word is the Hebraic equivalent of writing in caps and putting exclamation points afterward.  Jesus really meant it.

Similarly, the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:54-57)

We can take death lightly knowing Jesus conquered sin and death and now offers eternal life to those who believe.  As Paul says in Romans 8, now not even death can separate us from the love of Christ! (Rom. 8:37-39).   Isn’t that the most reassuring thing you’ve ever heard?  Doesn’t that change everything about this life?  How does that change the way you think about your life, what priorities you live for, and what you actually are fearful of?

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