Death Has No Hold On Us!

And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. —Romans 8:10-11

Death is common to all people. It matters not the social, economic, racial, ethnic, nationality or intelligence of a person. All will die— 1.78 people die per second, 107 per minute, 6,390 per hour, 153,000 per day, 56 million per year, 3.9 billion per average lifetime (70 Years). http://www.hebrew4christians.com/About_HFC/Death_Rate/death_rate.htm. “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (Romans 5:8).

Here is the hope, the expectation for those of us who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ— “just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you” and “For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead” (I Corinthians 15:13-20).

“A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:26-29). In 1 Peter 1:8 we are told that “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” and “Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God” (I Peter 1:21).

Followers of Jesus “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3). Our home is in heaven where Jesus is. We will be there with Him in a short time. Be faithful to Him. We shall see Him!

Thank You Father for the expectation that we will rise from the dead just as Jesus did. I am grateful that I know the end of the story and yet this is only the beginning. I am looking forward to the eternity with you that I can hardly begin to comprehend.