“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
~ 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
A father and his two sons were driving down the road one day when a bee found its way inside through an open window. The younger son was terrified of bees. He was allergic and being stung was one of the worst things that could happen to him. When he saw the bee in the car, he started to panic.
At once, his older brother trapped the bee between his hands. He held it there for a few moments, and then opened up his hands. The bee started buzzing around again and the younger boy again began to panic. But his older brother said, “Calm down! Don’t be afraid! The bee can’t hurt you anymore. Look at my hand.” And there, in the older brother’s hand, was the stinger.
As you and I travel down the path of life, there’s one thing that terrifies all people by nature—it’s death. You could say we’re all allergic to death. We do whatever we can to avoid it. Yet, because of sin, death is something that is inevitable for all of us.
But just like in the story, we have a brother who travels with us. We have a brother who was willing to take the sting of death. Jesus took the sting of death in our place and he died on the cross to take away all of our sins. He rose again because he conquered death!
With sins forgiven, with sins removed, death has lost its sting. What Jesus did tells each one of us: Don’t be afraid. Death can’t hurt you anymore. Look at Jesus’ hands, look at his feet. He has taken the sting of death for you! And because of this marvelous truth, death is not a defeat for us who believe, but a victory! Death is now the doorway to life everlasting with Jesus!
Resurrected Lord and Savior, thank you for taking the sting of death for us so that by faith in you we have the sure and certain hope of eternal victory in heaven. Amen.
Living Hope Church 