Death, Where Is Your Victory?

I was in the car on Saturday when I heard an old gospel song called....Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down.  I could not seem to get the song out of my head.  All day long it haunted me.  We lost a well-loved member of Rock Mills this weekend.  He was a member of our church once and was a pastor at another denomination in later years.  Everyone who knew him said wonderful and glowing things about him.  I was sad that I never had a chance to meet this man and hear his, "Hallelujah!"  His funeral was Saturday, three pastors spoke, and eight people were saved.  What a testimony to a life well-lived.  1 Corinthians 15:55, 57 talks of death.  It is one of the most read verses at funerals.  It is one of the few things I remember from my brother's funeral.  "Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?...But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  Most of my readers know that in the past few years I have lost several close family members.  It was a sad time to see them enter into the fading years of life....and die.  I realized during this time frame that there was nothing I could do to fix it.  I was powerless in the face of death.....caught in the grip of my own weaknesses, unable to help them...or myself.  I realized through the process of letting go that death stalks us continuously.  It does not matter if we are young...or old.  It sits ready to pounce on us to take away our last breath.  The thing I learned from all this is that goodbyes are not forever.  Because Christ lives, we do too....death is not the end.  I may be powerless over death....but since Christ conquered it....my hope is in him.  Therefore, I strive to strengthen my faith so I can hold on to hope even in the face of death.   PTL!