Jump Start # 2796

1 Corinthians 15:56 “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law”

I got stung this morning. It’s the third time in a month and a half that I’ve been stung. It wasn’t a hornet or a bee. No, it was the sting of death. Another dear friend, Christian, family member passed away early this morning. This is the third close death in a month and a half and yet another funeral that I will preach. I’ve always heard that famous people die in “threes” but these folks were just good, common people that you would have loved.

Geraldine was 98 and just a few weeks short of her 99th birthday. Spirited, feisty, funny, sharp, she was connected to me on the family tree. Her grandmother and my great grandfather were brother and sister. She once told me that made us fifth cousins—but I always said that we were “kissin” cousins. Her long journey ended. She babysit our kids when they were small and later in life, it was our turn to take care of her. The Lord sent the angels this morning and Miss Geraldine passed through that doorway of death to the other side. She never married. Her branch of the family tree ends with her. Her sister never married. Her brother married but had no children. She was the last.

Death has a sting to it. And, stings hurt. That’s true of bee stings and that’s true of shots at the doctor’s office. Stings hurt. They do. Don’t make light of the fact that they shouldn’t because they do. And, in the passage, death hurts. It hurts because a book closes. A life is finished here. We won’t have the interaction we once had, not here. It’s insulting for someone to say that we shouldn’t cry at the death of a Christian. Jesus cried at the death of Lazarus and He knew what He was about to do. Tears represent memories, love and time together. Tears are part of the healing process. Grief is a journey and each person walks it at their own pace. Some do fine. Others don’t do so well. Be patient and don’t judge.

But here are a few thoughts:

First, stings hurt but they are not fatal. Now, don’t tell me about bee allergies and those kinds of things. I know. But in the language of our verse, the sting of death is not a destructive blow. It may take our breath and it may cause us to think about things, but it doesn’t destroy us. That is, if one is in Christ. There is a hope beyond death. There is the promise of the resurrection.  There is that wonderful “Safe in the arms of Jesus” concept.

Second, stings go away. At the moment, stings can hurt so bad that you cry. But in time, it passes. Given the choice of being stung by a bee or having open heart surgery or a leg amputation, I’ll take the bee sting. Sure it hurts, but it passes and we forget about it. As a kid, I played a lot of baseball and most time I was out in left field. I got stung a few times out there. But all these years later, I couldn’t recall any of them specifically. That’s the way stings are. For the moment it hurts, but time passes, the pain fades and one is left with wonderful memories. The thing about stings, especially the sting of death is that one cannot fast forward past the pain part. It’s a journey.

Third, stings are forgotten in the victory of the resurrection with Christ. It’s much like a boxing match. There are many blows. Some hurt. Some bleed. But when the opponent falls and the victory belongs to you, everything else is overshadowed by the celebration of winning. So it is with us Christians. The journey can be rough. The stings can hurt. But once on the other side, none of that matters. It will all be lost in the sweet fellowship of being with the Lord.

Fourth, the sting of death, especially among Christians, is a reversal of how people feel. The one dying is not doing well. His body is shutting down. His breathing is shallow. He’s going. But once he crosses that doorway, as Lazarus experienced, he is comforted. He is feeling the best he has felt in years. And, at that moment there is an exchange in feelings. The one who dies feels great. The family now feels the sting and pain of death. The family hurts and the faithful dead is rejoicing.

There sure seems to have been a lot of families dealing with the sting of death this past year. I’m included among those. So many people have had loved ones die. And, what we can do is be sympathetic, loving and gentle with each other. There are many folks hurting. They have been stung. Your faith, your courage, your knowledge of Scriptures, your hope, your words can do so much to help those who are hurting.

Thank you for letting me share these thoughts.

Roger

Jump Start # 1140

1 Corinthians 15:56 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

  This morning I go to bury a friend. He was special to me and enriched my life in so many ways. I have been to the cemetery often as a preacher. It never gets easy and it never seems normal. The funeral of a Christian is emotional. The world seems a bit darker because one of God’s children are no longer gracing it. We know, we believe, the Scriptures teach and God promises, that the death of the righteous is precious to God. That helps on days like today. We know that this is not goodbye, it’s a see you in a little while. We know the book of our life does not end with the last page at the cemetery. There is no last page. We live on and on and what a wonderful blessing that is. Death is Satan’s greatest trump card. It’s his big gun. It’s the one thing we can’t get around. Death comes. However, because of Jesus, up from the grave He arose. Satan is defeated by the resurrection of Christ. Jesus was the first to rise to never die again. Lazarus, he had to die again. The synagogue official’s little girl, she had to die again. The boy who fell asleep while Paul preached and fell out the window and died, he had to die again. Not Jesus. He was raised to never die again. And because of that we too shall rise never to die again. So our verse taunts death. Where is your sting? Where is your victory? Because of Jesus, death loses. Because of Jesus, Satan loses. The pain of death is not as severe because of Jesus. There is a victory. Heaven is ours because of Jesus.

I have been to a lot of cemeteries in my life. Sometimes I was looking for the grave of some long ago preacher. Sometimes I was looking for branches in the family tree. Sometimes I was just looking. There is something peaceful about cemeteries. Some think they are creepy. I don’t. The older the cemetery the better in my book. I don’t like those flat stones on the ground, modern cemeteries. They lack character. I like the verses, poems, tall stones and short ornate stones. I like the stones that look like trees with branches cut off. I like the little lambs that adorned the graves of children.

There are some valuable lessons learned in cemeteries, especially the older ones.

First, most of the people buried in old cemeteries have been dead longer than they were alive. That’s an amazing fact. Cemeteries remind us how short life is. It seems that since this is true, we ought to put more attention into the eternal than we do the here and now. We need to give thought about our walk with Christ and how we are living. We will be in the eternal for an eternity. Here is brief. Here is not long at all.

Second, what each person thought was so important is now forgotten. Looking at old tombstones, you wonder what worries they had and what issues they faced. Farmers worried about the weather, that is long gone now. Droughts and floods have passed. Mothers fussed over mending patches on the knees of pants. There were economic concerns, political concerns, threats of wars, sick babies, leaky roofs and all the things that we often are bothered about. Forgotten. Gone. Not a concern anymore. The problems that cripple us, do not cross over the boundary of death. Cancer, heart disease, financial ruin, flat tires, phone calls in the middle of the night, stress at work, none of those things will be found in the next world. Problems stay here. Problems not only stay here, they will be forgotten. A generation or two later, and no one will know, or even care. That certainly has a way of putting things in perspective.

Third, Each stone had three things. A beginning date, birth, and ending date, death, and a dash in between. The first and last dates are determined by God. We don’t have much of a say in those things. We don’t have a say about when we are born. We don’t get to pick out the generation. God does. The dash however, is our life. The dash is made up of the choices that we make. Good, bad, long, short, helpful, hurtful, side by side, the people rest, each given a dash. Each responsible for that dash. Each known by that dash. That dash defines us. That dash determines where we will spend eternity. The dash is given to us. What we make of it says everything. Your life summed up by a dash. All those years. All those conversations. All those plans, thoughts, adventures, sweat, toil, hardships, blessings—all of it, in a dash. We are not given two or three dashes. Just one. One life. One opportunity to do something good and right. One chance to know God. One. One dash.

Fourth, each person was loved by God. Some may not have realized that. Some may have doubted that. But they were. They were blessed, loved and God wanted them to spend eternity with Hm. Each person was important to God. Each name was a soul that Jesus died for. Many, long forgotten, even by distant family members, are never forgotten by God. The deeds, even simple ones, such as giving a cup of cold water is remembered by God. The cemetery finds those who died in sin and those who died forgiven of their sins. Just and unjust, side by side, for one final time, until eternity makes that grand separation for all times. Known, loved and blessed by God—each person.

Fifth, death doesn’t care who you are. The old cemeteries will be the home to those who played professional sports, were movers and shakers in their communities and those who died before they even got a chance. Death strikes the rich and the poor. A person can’t flee to a “death-free” haven. They do not exist. This reminds us that death takes our friends and our family. Death is ugly, mean and uncaring. Often, as I experience today, the best are taken. It is not fair, but fairness is not a word that death knows.

Finally, I have a divine appointment coming. Hebrews 9 teaches, “It is appointed unto man once to die…” I won’t miss that appointment. I won’t be able to skip that appointment. It’s coming. When I realize this, I can make the most of my time, my life and this day. Today is a gift of God. Today is a blessing. I need to honor God with it, realizing that some day I will be out of days here. I will move on to the next room and be set into eternity. No one escapes this. The old cemeteries prove that.

Life is precious. Make the most of it. Use your time wisely. Don’t get bogged down in things that do not matter, especially in eternity. Don’t miss God. Love Him. Walk with Him. Obey Him. Know Him. Honor Him. Follow Him. Trust Him. If you do, someday He’ll call you home to be with Him.

We are the victors, thanks to Jesus Christ.

Roger