DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- VICTORY IN JESUS

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – VICTORY IN JESUS

"Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Hebrews 2:14-15)

It was Woody Allen who said, "I'm not afraid of dying. I just don't want to be there when it happens." Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Allen, but you will be. It is appointed unto man once to die. The mortality rate is 100%. Most people don't want to die. That's why people go to great lengths to stay alive. It is an instinctual part of nature to survive. So we do everything we can to avoid death.

The non-Christian fears death because of the unknown. They face a dark hole and they don't know what lies beyond the pale. But the Christian knows what lies beyond death, and it is glorious, because of Christ's resurrection.

The Lord Jesus shared our flesh and blood, which included death, to prove that He had victory over death. Through His death, He destroyed the devil and released us from the fear of death that we were in bondage to. The devil has no power or authority because Jesus was victorious over death in His resurrection. As the Apostle wrote to the Corinthians, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:54-57).

Although there is sadness and mourning for our loss of a loved one, there is also a sense of victory because he or she has attained victory over death through faith in the Lord Jesus. We live in confidence, not in fear, because of Jesus' victory. Oh, victory in Jesus, my Savior forever. As the advertisement is paraphrased, "You're in good hand with Jesus."

Love, Dad