THE STING OF DEATH!

Posted byStu BranstonPosted inUncategorized

 Photo by Ricardo Gomez on Unsplash.

Did you ever wonder why the leaves of trees turn such beautiful colors in the Fall?

The leaves are experiencing death and it’s beautiful.

The tree itself lives to see another day.

So it is with us!  Our outer self, our physical body will die, but our spirit will live on.

Isn’t God trying to tell us something?  That death can be beautiful?  That death is not the end.              

Are you a ‘whoever’?  

‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ John 3:16 

A whoever believes and has eternal life!  And their mortal body will be replaced with an imperishable, immortal body upon their death!  Now that’s beautiful!

And the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?  Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ 1 Corinthians 15. 

‘We know that a ‘whoever’ will be raised by the Lord Jesus from the dead.  He will also raise (them) with Jesus and present (them) to himself.  All this is for (their) benefit, so that the grace that is reaching so many people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.  Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, (like the dying leaves), yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.’ 2 Corinthians 4:14-16. 

We know that a ‘whoever’ is ‘always confident, knowing that while they are at home in the body, they are absent from the Lord.  For we walk by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.’ 2 Corinthians 5:6-8. 

Did you hear that incredible, beautiful news?  When a believer dies, (when they are ‘absent from their body’) they are instantly in Gods presence.  INSTANTLY!

And this is hope, ‘the anchor for the soul, firm and secure.’ Hebrews 6:19

‘Hope’.  It’s the one thing that you and I cannot live without!  Pastor Charles Swindoll.

‘Our world today so desperately hungers for hope, yet uncounted people have almost given up.  There is despair and hopelessness on every hand.  Let us be faithful in proclaiming the hope that is in Jesus’.  Billy Graham. 

Do you have this hope?  Are you a ‘whoever’?  If so, your death, like the tree leaves in the fall will be BEAUTIFUL!

STING

She lay in the bed 

Of the pickup

Embracing her dying dog

Alone

The inevitable coming

Not willing to face the pain

The sting of death

She waits

We all wait with her

For that inevitable end

But the sting of death is gone

Because He has come. MRB.

Published by Stu Branston

ABOUT ME! MRB is my professorial nickname. My for real name is Stu Branston, Professor Emeritus, Oral Roberts University. Received a Bachelor and Master of Fine Art in Sculpture from the University of Washington, Seattle. Was a member of the Foster White, the most prestigious gallery in Seattle at the time. One of my sculptures was included in the Collection of Northwest Artists. Won a competition to create and install a sculpture for the Bellevue College, Bellevue, Washington. The sculpture, ‘Psalm 61’, is painted, welded steel. It weighs 5 tons and is 20 feet tall. Was a youth pastor for 5 years. Taught art at Seattle Pacific University for 5 years. Taught art at Oral Roberts University for 26 years and served as Art Department Chairman for 20 years. Retired as Professor Emeritus, 2013. Love to write poetry and photograph this amazing world we live in!

5 thoughts on “THE STING OF DEATH!”

  1. Beautiful poem at the end capturing the sting we experience but also the hope we have in Christ. I’m a ‘whoever’ ! Hallelujah!

    Like

    Reply

  2. Good stuff Stu! Thank you Bro.
    As you know, I LOVE trees! They have always been a huge part of my life.
    What a great analogy. Hadn’t thought of them in these terms before. Like you said: the real life is what’s inherently resident WITHIN them, below the surface. Especially true in the deciduous varieties. They might look “dead” in winter but then Spring comes: new life! “resurrection!”
    One thing cool about one of the few seasonal trees (Red Alders) we have among evergreens in SE AK: their shed leaves release nitrogen back into the soil, contributing to life all around them. “Oh, that I may learn to die completely to self so as to release freely the life of Jesus to those around me!”
    Love you Brother!

    Like

    Reply

  5. I do love those verses in Corinthians. If Jesus had not died, had not taken our sin, sickness, mental illness, our brokenness, upon himself… if He had not died and then was raised from the dead, then our faith would be in vain. All that we believe and hope in, would be a hoax. A lie. But that Jesus experienced a Resurrection – well – that changes everything! That validates our faith! And because HE experienced resurrection, WE will experience resurrection, too. Doesn’t that just warm your heart! No, it makes me want to shout! God is so good! Thanks for this article … No sting, just Victory over death. Shalom, dk

    Like

    Reply

Leave a Reply