O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?

Death is the finality of physical life on earth. People exit the earth through various means; some due to old age, some due to illnesses and diseases, some due to accidents, and many others causes. Each one of us is different; we live as a community but death is an individual experience. That is why we should never be swayed away to act as a crowd in things that do not please God; matters of life and death are an individual experience.

Our life on earth should be lived for the glory of God, anything else is meaningless.

The Bible tells that when a person dies, the body returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Death came into the world as a result of sin; Adam and Eve sinned before God, they did what God told them they should not do, they ate the fruit from the tree God told them not to. Before that, Adam and Eve were in a perfect relationship with God and there was no sin.

God told Adam, “You may freely eat of every tree from the garden, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you may not eat, for on the day that you eat of it, you will certainly die” Genesis 2:16-17.

The consequences were very clear. The day they ate that fruit, death came on the earth. Man gained the knowledge of good and evil and has free will to choose either, but choices do have consequences. From then going forward, man’s life was limited; man became mortal.

The consequences of Adam and Eve’s actions are seen today. We are all born mortal. No one escapes the physical death on earth, except those believers who will be alive during the second coming of Jesus; the Bible says those will be caught up together with those risen in Christ in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and their bodies will be transformed into immortal ones. Death is the finality of life on earth, of our mortal, imperfect bodies.

We are to serve God every day of our lives. We are to build up treasures in heaven by loving one another and obeying God in everything; those are the only treasures that will last. We are to enjoy life, with God as the center. We are not to fear life – God has given life to us freely. No one asked to be born, our life belongs to God. Life is a gift.

Man was created for worship, to worship God. Earthly comforts are good, but we should never make them our gods.

We should never forget where we are going. Our home is heaven. This life and everything in it will pass away. Nothing is permanent here. What we think we own here on earth will be left here. The rich die and leave their wealth behind. Death equalizes everyone but after death, people will end up in different destinations depending on the kind of life they lived here on earth. The awakening of this truth should be enough to put everyone off their slumber and wake up.

There is no need for pride, that is a fruit of the flesh. The Bible says that a haughty look the Lord despises. Pride makes us elevate ourselves above others and have no regard for God, yet, we never contributed in our own creation. We should always give the glory back to God. We are not better than others! Just because we have a certain look, because we own a few or many properties, because we live in a certain area and in a certain house; that does not make us better than others. We should never allow things of the world to change us.

Blessings come from God. We are not blessed so that we can boast and oppress others, we are blessed so that we can also be a blessing to others.

Sin always leads to death. Sin is deadly; in a real kind of way. Sin is flesh in control. The works of the flesh are obvious; illicit sex, perversion, promiscuity, idolatry, drug use, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, conflict, factions, envy, drunkenness, revelings and such like things. Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Sin is ugly. It leads to physical and spiritual death. Initially it seems enticing, but the cost is always out of proportion.

The flesh is in conflict with the spirit. We have the knowledge of good and evil; we have free will. Anyone walking in flesh is easily recognizable; they may try to hide for a while, but the fruit speaks for itself. The Bible tells us we shall know them by their fruits. However, when we accept Jesus as Lord, everything changes; He becomes our master. To walk in the spirit, the flesh has to be put into subjection to the Word of God. The flesh usually wants to do what it wants, it usually wants the easiest and most pleasurable way. Yet, to walk in flesh leads to death.

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become a new creation. It is God who empowers us to walk in the Spirit. We cannot do it on our own. We become children of God by adoption through Jesus. We become heirs of God with Christ, and the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

To them that love God, death is just a passage, a gateway to heaven. We know where Jesus went and He is preparing a place for us so that where He is, we will also be.

The Bible says that to be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord. Jesus lives, He is alive. When we get saved and turn away from sin, we become children of God. If we fall, we repent immediately; God is merciful and He forgives us. It does not mean we are perfect, we strive every day towards perfection. We are told to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through Jesus. Whether we are alive on this earth or our bodies are asleep in death, we live with Jesus, who died for us. Those asleep in death cannot return to us but if they died in Christ, we will meet again in heaven.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Him, though we die, we shall live, and every one of us who believe in Him shall never die.

Oh death, where is your sting, oh Hades, where is your victory? The only sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But glory be to God, He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ defeated death! We are heavenly citizens; Jesus will transform our bodies to be like Him, immortal and perfect. Our inheritance in heaven is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. The world will not accept us, just as it did not accept Jesus. But glory be to God, in heaven there will be no more mourning, nor crying, nor pain; God will wipe every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more.

There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. There is nothing to fear in this world, even death. Nothing can snatch us from Jesus’ hands, He knows us by name. Our lives are to be lived for God. It is only God who gives meaning to life; a life without God is vanity.

Hell is real, and those who reject God will end up there; they will be forever in torment and will never know rest. But blessed are those who die in the Lord, they rest from their labor but their deeds follow them. The good we do in Christ is not in vain, there is a reward awaiting us in heaven. Therefore, we do not live to please man, we live for God, He is our rewarder. We do good and we love as God tells us. We do not love in order to be loved back or to get a favor or to receive something in return; we love others because we love God. With God, everything is a win-win.

For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or we die, we are the Lord’s. Romans 14:8.

To be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Blessings.

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