OH, DEATH WHERE IS YOUR STING?
Well, since these are the opinions of an unbelieving carnal man, such an idea is expected. However, I fear that a large majority of believers (as I have observed) hold similar sentiments about heaven. They imagine it as a place where we will get all our needs met: a river of milk and eggs growing on trees. In a few words: fleshly indulgence.
What will we do in Heaven?
The first thing that you have to understand is that everything about this human body of ours, its desires for food, sex, along with its weakness to sickness and ageing, will all be left behind in this world. Heaven, my dear friends, is a different environment altogether. It’s a spiritual world. Therefore, it is an error to imagine it from the perspective of our fleshy desires. Scripture tells us that we will be given new bodies, specially built and suited for that heavenly environment.
The Bible does not give full details about everything that will happen in heaven. However, the glimpse of it is that: 1.) We will rest from our labours. 2.) We will have no pain & suffering. 3.) We will experience the pleasure of being in the presence of God. 4.) We will fellowship with Christ and with each other. Whatever will happen, one thing is sure: we will enjoy every moment of it. It definitely won’t be a boring continuous worship session as some people imagine.
The moment you die (if you are in Christ), your body will be buried on the day of your funeral, while your spirit (or soul) will immediately ascend to be with the Lord in heaven. “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8). At the Day of the coming of our Lord Jesus, all the righteous souls (or spirits) will come with Him (Jud 1:14, 1 Thes 3:13). The bodies in the grave will rise, and they will be joined with the spirits to make you into a complete being, just with a new incorruptible nature.
The main point of this article is to assure you that heaven is a different place to be. It’s something that you have to dream and desire each and every day of your life. Because I don’t know about you, but this world is not as pleasant as some people make it to be. In fact, there is no guarantee of anything. You can wake up tomorrow and everything you have worked for is taken from you. Your own body can turn against you and start getting sick: cancer, HIV, TB, Ebola, or anything. Thieves can break into your home and rob and rape you along with your loved ones. Your car can mysteriously lose control and fly off a cliff, leaving you seriously injured and probably disabled for life. These things happen every day to other people. The fact that it’s not happening to you doesn’t mean you are better somehow.
On top of all these horrific life events, there is still the biggest enemy: death. What is the thing that has caused so much pain & suffering, so many broken homes, so many orphans left behind, so many shattered dreams? Think of the greatest men of history. I mean the likes of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare, Adolf Hitler, Moammar Gaddafi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther, Albert Einstein, Osama Bin Laden, Nelson Mandela. What happened to them? Death defeated them – They died!
Consider the people that we consider great today: Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Christian Ronaldo, Kim Kardashian. What are they afraid of? Except that they will one day die and their famous names; everything they worked hard for; will all be buried in the ground and forgotten.
Contemplate about your own life: what are you afraid of right now? What can stop your dreams today and erase all your hard work – instantly? Death, therefore, is the undefeated champion. But, is it not strange that Paul asked the question: “Oh death, where is your victory?” (1 Cor 15: 55–57)? That is an open challenge to humanity’s greatest enemy. That is, Paul already understood (and every believer must today understand) that death has no last say. Jesus Christ our Saviour has come. And through His death and resurrection, declared death powerless. Which means for us, for you who believe in Christ, even if they say RIP, your life still goes on.
Now, my plea to you, my dear Christian: do not be satisfied with what’s happening in this world. It doesn’t matter how much you have achieved or what property you own. Desire a better world: where there will be no sorrow. No suffering. No corruption: No anger. No selfishness. No jealousy. No cheating. No robbers. I mean, don’t you want that kind of security and peace? God, through our Lord Jesus, has already prepared that place for you. It’s called heaven.
Therefore, if you are reading this, my dear friend, and are still unsure, unconcerned and perhaps careless about whether you know Jesus or not, it’s my job to tell you that death is looking at you right now. It has your current location. Unless you trust in Christ. Repent and cast your cares upon Him. “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? John 11-25-26.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
Sinothi Ncube
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