Life or Death

    by John Leach

    After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having put down all enemies of every kind. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:24-26)

        Ever had a bad day? There's a great little report tucked away in Luke 7 which is no more than 12 lines long. It tells the story we call "The Widow at Nain."

        As far as bad days go, the Widow of Nain was having one about as bad as they can get. She had lost her husband and now she had lost her only son. This was bad -- real bad. The funeral procession was heading out of town with most of the town folk following, weeping and wailing. A young death is always tragic.

        There is something very significant about the scene described by Luke:

    As they (Jesus and his friends) approached the village gate they met a funeral procession... When Jesus saw her (the Widow) his heart broke... Then he went over and touched the coffin... The dead son sat up and ... Jesus presented him to his mother.

        Wow!

        Here are two processions and the difference lay in who was leading. On the one hand, a dead man was at the head of the procession. The other was led by Jesus -- the Man of Life.

        The two processions met head on. Jesus touches the coffin and says: "Young man, I tell you, Get Up!"

        Pow!

        The Man of Life overwhelms the man of death. Jesus put his life into the Widow's son. Jesus transformed the whole nature of that funeral and the deep grief of that town. He has been changing the nature of funerals ever since by taking the sting out of death.

        And he can't stop transforming bad days, too.

        Wherever Jesus is, there is...
            life
            and hope
            and joy
            and peace
            and most of all, love.

        Jesus overwhelms death in us exactly the same way as he overwhelmed death outside of Nain. You will never find Jesus and death in the same place. It is just a matter for you to decide which place you want to be. Who is at the head of your parade -- the Man of Death or the Man of Life?

    When this happens -- when our perishable earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die -- then at last the Scriptures will come true:
    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. How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord! So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.     (1 Corinthians 15:54-58)

    Posted: 04/22/2003
    URL: http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200304/20030422_life.html

    Copyright (c) 2003, John Leach. Used by permission. John is a member of the JUST A MINUTE <http://www.justaminute.faithweb.com> writing team.

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