“…Death has been swallowed up by a victory. Where is your victory, Death? Where is your sting, Death?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55, CEB).

     I can’t help but wonder if this passage was one of the Apostle Paul’s favorites. Paul spoke of the “thorn in the flesh” from which he suffered mightily. No one knows the particular malady with which Paul struggled. Some have suggested that Paul was blind. Others claim that he endured debilitating seizures.

     Whatever problem Paul had he never lost hope. Paul looked forward to the day he would be given a new body—a “spiritual body” he called it. This new body is devoid of all affliction and pain, temptation and angst.

     I embraced these words from Paul when my mother died. Mom had a disease called Multiple Systems Atrophy (MSA). MSA is one of seventy-two Parkinson’s Plus-related diseases. MSA robs one of the ability to walk, talk, swallow, and the like. My mother was one of the most active persons I’ve known yet was relegated to a wheelchair during her final days on earth.

     My hope was that Mom would be freed from the disease that ravaged her body. My hope was answered but not in the way I wanted. Mom died but through the miracle of the Resurrection she is fully alive. Today, she is walking and talking and actively enjoying life.

     Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15 remind me that death is the ultimate healing. Sometimes death can be a friend by relieving us from great suffering. And while some may die under tragic circumstances, death for those who follow Christ never ends in tragedy. Ultimately, death is “swallowed up in victory!”

Prayer

Lord God, as I face the coming holidays without the people I cherish and love, encourage me with the hope of Christ’s resurrection. Remind me that the ones I miss today are seeing you face-to-face and that through my faith in Jesus, I will one day join their triumphant chorus. Through Christ I pray. Amen.

[For a fully explanation of Paul’s words about death, please read 1 Corinthians 15:35-55.]