1 Corinthians 15:54-57
Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I watched my dad die. Cancer robbed him of energy and vigor, and left him lying in a bed, surrounded by his family watching him take his last breath. Death is not glorious. Paul describes it as the last enemy. However, it is a holy moment. I watched my dad pass from death to life.

I say that with confidence because of the truth in today’s passage. My dad trusted in Jesus Christ alone as the only way to have a personal relationship with the living God. He did not trust in religious tradition or good deeds. He knew he was saved by grace through faith and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). My dad was not judged for his sins because Jesus had taken that judgment for him.

The Bible describes death as leaving one place and arriving in another. As one would cross over a bridge to get from one side of a river to the other, so the believer crosses over from this world to eternal life. This world is not our home. One day all of us will leave this earth, but with Jesus by our side, we will cross over and enter the eternal place that has been prepared for us. Our peace comes from knowing that Jesus will be by our side all the way home.

Father, thank you for sending Jesus to build the great cross over. Thank you for the peace that comes from knowing death is simply a transition from this temporal life to life eternal. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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