The Sting is Gone- and the Work Goes On

55“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”ⁱ

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:55-58)

Thoughts  Death comes to everyone.  But Jesus takes the sting away- so that death becomes not a wall, but a door.  The sting of death is sin.  When we die, what keeps us from eternal life is our own sin.  Heaven is a perfect place and if we cannot get rid of sin we cannot go there for we will not be perfect (and heaven would be made imperfect by our going there with our sin).  Jesus atones for our sin.  He takes the sin away so that we survive.  If a bee stings you and leaves the stinger in you, there will be infection and problems.  But if you can take that stinger out, there will be healing and hope.  Once we know that the power of death to ruin us forever is gone, death is not a permanent force, but a temporary bump in the road.
     If we know that the worst life can offer us- suffering and death will be defeated by Christ, then we have courage to keep the faith and stand firm even if it means we are persecuted or suffer.  In the meantime- we need to remember we are put here for a reason.  The work we do for our Lord is not a waste of time- that ends in our death.  But it is a labor that reaps eternal rewards.  Working for the eternal cause of the kingdom of God is not a work that will fade into oblivion.  It is a work that makes a true difference.  Give yourselves fully to the Lord's work.  

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the work you give me to do.  Thank you that the work I do for you makes an eternal difference.