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Topic: Living And Dying In Faith
[DCLM Daily Manna 23 November 2019 Daily Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]
Text: John 11:18-32
Key Verse: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” – (John 11:25).
Men are known to be at their lowest ebb when death casts its dark shroud over them. They go about in symbols of grief: black armbands, dreary clothes, mournful look, unkempt countenance, imposition of graveyard silence in the home. They also take to wailing, community lamentation and blasphemous blame of God for the visitation of death. In other cultural settings, the bereaved turn to the idolatrous practice of necromancy: ‘waking’ the dead to find out who or what killed them so the family could revenge.
However, when our Lord Jesus Christ found Himself bereft of a loved one, He presented contrasting scenes. He cheered up the disconsolate family and identified empathically with them. His conversation with Martha serves as a guide on how Christians should relate with grieving brethren. The Lord led the discussion to the issue of faith in Him that leads to resurrection on the last day for the true believer that endures to the end.
Moments of physical sadness or loss of an acquaintance through death should not be when we throw away our joy in the Lord’s precious promises. Physical separation of a fellow follower of Jesus that results from death is only a step into eternity with Christ. Paul says we should not sorrow at such deaths, describing their repose as ‘sleep’ from which the Lord will wake them “with the trump of God”.
But such an exciting experience and promise are for those who have received Christ as their Lord and are in earnest readiness for His imminent return. Such Christians are unmoved by the circumstances around them. While this encourages the believer not to be weary but to press on for more work for the Lord, it challenges the sinner to repent.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Death for the Christian is calm sleep in the arms of the Lord.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 43-44
