The Sting of Death

"On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken."             Isaiah 25: 7, 8

    Through the macabre maze of ghouls, ghosts and gory movies, the Christian roots of Halloween have become buried. The very name of this observance is a contraction of Hallow and Evening, and it was a vigilant time set aside to honor the souls who have passed away during the year. It behooves the believer to turn their face aside from what it has become and look instead to All Saint's Day, which is still celebrated in some churches.

    Death visits everyone - all peoples and all nations - and though it stings, there is no cause for fear for those who trust in Jesus. God has taken away the sting of death and the victory of the grave by sending his most precious Son to die on a cross as a sacrifice for our sins. By his wounds we are healed, praise God! Because Christ rose from the dead, so shall we who believe in His Name.

    Our tears are not overlooked by our merciful God. Jesus himself wept at the graveside of his friend, Lazarus. The Bible says, "When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled." (John 11:33) He shed tears even though he knew he would call his friend forth from the grave. 

    There will be a day when He will bestow on us a "crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." (Isaiah 61:3) Listen to these words from "Hymn of Heaven" by Phil Wickham:

"How I long to breathe the air of Heaven,

Where pain is gone and mercy fills the streets;

To look upon the One who bled to save me,

And walk with Him for all eternity.

Every prayer we prayed in desperation,

The songs of faith we sang through doubt and fear,

In the end we'll see that it was worth it,

When He returns to wipe away our tears."

    While death and sorrow swirl around us in this season of illness, loneliness and grief, comfort those with the words of our God as you embrace them in love.

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4