IMTS Global

MEMORIAL - On a Personal Note: Oh "Death" Where is Thy Sting?

For most, that very word hauntingly reminds us of our mortality. "Death". It brings the boldest warrior to his knees, the strongest mother to unquenchable tears and the vast majority of the rest of the world to the gripping reality of its finality. Death. It symbolizes a conclusion, a finished effort, unfortunately for many, eternal loss. It painfully reminds many of time that cannot be returned, efforts that will have no chance of redemption, and a resonating heartache that will remain forever.

Have you been there? Have you experienced the loss of a loved one? Then you know what I mean. It produces pain and remorse that time, although able to dull the edges of, is unable to erase, emotions that words due injustice to express.

And yet, as we allow God's word to permeate our being, to heal our wounds, to soothe our souls we find solace in His call to victory, even in the face of death. Paul, so familiar with loss, leaned wholly on the One who was his comfort, and staring death in the face declared ;

Cor 15:54-57 (NAS)
54	"...when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory.
55	"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
56	The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
57	but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In sardonic, almost taunting fashion, Paul poses two questions, "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" Without hesitation, as if to ward off the enemies efforts to even attempt a despicable, contemptuous lie, he provides his own marvelous answer. An answer which for the believer is enveloped in straightforward doctrinal reality, and personal triumph and exaltation. The retort, "...the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

The victory, the ability to overcome, to triumph, to press on. Death for the believer is just that, an opportunity to press on, to have finished the course, to finally rest in the arms of our Beloved. Paul, in his last days of service to the Master on this earth reflected on his journey and envisioned his glorious reunion with He who had called and appointed him ;

2 Tim 4:7-8
7	I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
8	in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Many of you know by now that a mighty warrior took those final steps this past week. Like a lumbering tree amidst the quiet evergreens of the forest, quietly toppling over with an air of solemnity, Albert Firoentino (fondly "Uncle Al" to us), a quiet and humble warrior, experienced firsthand the triumph over death. "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" Uncle Al knows only too well.

Although, on this side, we will never laugh with him again, share in the perpetuities of his "painting savvy" and his "obsession with perfection", his endless, oft times ill humor, his love for the NY Mets, and his wonderment of gardening, we will meet again.

Instead we will savor the moments, the memories, and the plain old stuff that made Uncle Al, well, "Uncle Al" to all of us. We will celebrate his entrance into the eternal kingdom. We will muse over his times with our Savior, we will cry for those left behind and ourselves, and we will long to experience firsthand what he has already experienced.

"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" Ask Uncle Al when you get there. I'm sure he'll be all too happy to share his experience with you. And while we wait, rejoice for "...thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Coram Deo,

Jeff