55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death. What is it about death that causes even Christians so much consternation? Death for the Christian is just the beginning of something so much better. The sting has been removed. The power that caused us to move in directions other than those intended by God has been demolished, never to influence us again. I remember going to a cattle auction in the south. The cattle were gathered in pens and were awaiting their time in the auction ring. As their time approached they had to be moved from that pen, through a scale, and then down the chute into the arena where the bidding took place. As you can imagine, they did not want to enter the narrow path into the unknown. They liked the uneasy comfort of the crowd. But they had to be moved. Thus, entered the cattle prod. The cattle knew what it was. As it was raised in the air they would protest in movement and sound. Most would go the opposite direction of their eventual path. This only led to the dreaded shock. If needed, there were repeated persuasions used to get the cattle to bend to the auction house’s will. The picture is the same with us. Sin had us heading in a very predictable direction. There was comfort in the crowd, knowing that when an individual got separated (went to the hospital or nursing home) they were in trouble. There was the result of sin, the decaying of our bodies, the fracturing of relationships that signaled to us that death was coming. But in Jesus the cattle prod that kept us moving inexorably onward has been taken away. We are not forced down a path that is unpleasant in its outcome. The sting of death has been removed. Death for the Jesus-follower is not the painful, final chapter; it is only the beginning of the rest. The electricity has been unplugged and death no longer shocks us along the way. So today, as you face your death, remember that everything that was dreaded about the outcome, the uncertainty, the finality, has been removed. Jesus proves that. His love and comfort straddle death’s divide. There is nothing to fear.
The Arnold Journey 