Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

⁵⁰ Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; ⁵⁷ but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

 “Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The psalmist says: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. That is one of the primary differences between a true believer in Christ and many other people. The believer has a confidence of his or her eternal destiny. It is more than a hope in what might be it is confidence an assurance of victory over death through the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why, like the psalmist we can view death as only a shadow. It has no real substance. It holds no eternal power over us.

In Philippians 1:21-25 Paul talks about how the confidence of eternity with the Lord frees us to serve Him without fear.     ²¹ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²²  But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. ²³ But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; ²⁴ yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

So it is not so much that we look forward to death, but rather we live our life now according to God’s will, knowing that the end of this life is really the beginning of an even greater time.

Jesus says:  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) Fear is not of God. Fear is the opposite of faith. It is believing more in the things we do not want than in the things we do want. To the extent that we allow fear of anything, even the fear of death control our life, we allow the thief to kill and destroy that which Jesus wants us to have.  Jesus came, that we would have and enjoy abundant life. While fear is the opposite of faith, we overcome fear through love.  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18)  

Perfect love casts out fear. There is only one source of perfect love.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) That’s the perfect love we have from God.

Let’s look again at 1 John 4, taking the verse about perfect love casting out fear in context.    Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. ¹⁹ We love, because He first loved us.     We love because He first loved us. Only because God unconditionally pours out His love on us can we truly love. Only through love do we overcome fear. Fear involves punishment or worry about consequences. Perfect love cast out all fear.

Because God first loved us, with His perfect love, we respond in love. We then can fulfill Jesus instruction in Matthew 22: 36-40   “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and foremost commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

That’s abundant life, a life of love for God and others. That is a victorious life, a life that can be lived without fear.

Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.    Amen.