A Gateway to Glory

Today’s Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:57

As a pastor, I have had to deal with the pain of death more than I would like. I have heard the wails of brokenhearted children crying at the funeral of their parent. I have held mothers as they shook with sobbing after their little one died. I have sat with countless widows who were now facing the reality of living without their spouse for the first time in half a century.

Time after time, I have had to look a family in the eye and tell them that everything will be alright after their loved one passed away. How could I assure them of this?

The truth is that there is nothing that I can humanly say that can bring hope in the face of death. But thankfully, God’s Word brings hope when I cannot.

In his glorious chapter on the resurrection, Paul gives us reason to rejoice in the face of death. He tells us that “the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). 

Death is a reality that awaits every human being, but the resurrection is a greater reality that every Christian can look forward to. Death is not the end. It is merely our gateway to glory.

Today’s Prayer: Father, thank you for the hope of the resurrection.  Help me to trust you and look forward to glory with hope, even in the face of death.