SDG 186 Death Has No Sting

1 Corinthians 15:55

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

This weekend we celebrate the resurrection of The LORD Jesus Christ and in the early church when one believer greeted another the first would say "He is risen!" And the other would reply "He is risen indeed!"

Now I'm almost certain although I cannot prove it that Paul was inspired by what King David wrote in Psalm 23:4 when he penned the words: O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

King David wrote: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

Now, death isn't a very popular subject in our culture.

As a matter of fact, when you mention death, people will often change the subject.

We do everything we can to avoid thinking about death.

Ironically, man's the only creature who knows he’s going to die and yet he’s trying desperately to forget it!

We try to do everything we can do to obscure the fact that we’re winding down to the grave.

Then even at the grave, we make them look like a memorial park, or a magnificent garden.

So we just don’t like the idea of dying, but death is a very real fact, and actually something that we’re shouldn't fear, in fact like Paul we are to ask death where is your sting.

So let's see how what King David wrote in Psalm 23 ought to inspire us to look death straight in the face, accept it as a fact, yet acknowledge it as a defeated foe and even embrace it as a friend!

Yes even as a friend!!!