Death Has Been Defeated
“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”
1 John 5:11 (NKJV)
As I was watching the news a week ago today there were three headlines reported in succession one after another:
- 148 pupils were massacred at Garissa University in Kenya by 4 Somalian Shabaab Islamists. Images were shown of grieving relatives, students in shock and a long line of people waiting to identify bodies.
- The second black box recovered from the Germanwings crash shows that the co-pilot ‘sped up descent’. This deliberate crash killed 150 people.
- An American, Louis Jordan, was rescued after 2 months of being capsized at sea. In an interview following his rescue Louis said he felt blessed and wanted now to do something fruitful with his life.
It struck me, as the news was presented, how easy it is for a single person or event to destroy life. Such news headlines are horrific and yet we become de-sensitized to them. Stories of rescue and hope seem much more rare.
Over the Easter weekend Christians around the world remembered the significance of Jesus Christ’s death. So much more remarkable than His death was His resurrection – but even more amazing than that is the life that this resurrection brings to us.
“And Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11: 25-26)
Do you believe this? Indeed this can be hard to believe in our fallen world, and yet it is the absolute truth, from the mouth of Jesus Himself! Through our faith in Jesus we are rescued from the frailty and flaws of our human existence, and from death itself, to life eternal.
Prayer
Our Father in heaven, we thank You for sending Your Son to die for us. Thank You that death and sin have been defeated. Let us bear witness to You in this world where, for so many, death seems inevitable and final. Let us shine the light of Jesus into the darkness and heartache of the world. We praise Your name. In Jesus Christ.
Amen
Study by Simone Royle
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About the Author:
Simone Royle is a member of our church who lives in Warwickshire. She attends the Birmingham Congregation.
Local Congregation:
Worldwide Church of God Birmingham
All Saints Church
George Road
BIRMINGHAM
B23 7QB
Meeting Time:
Saturday 1:00pm
Local Congregational Contact:
David Gibbs
Phone: 01213420609 (answer phone)
Mobile: 07974440580
Email: david_gibbs@wcg.org.uk