The Last Enemy

For just over one year, mortality has met me just about every Monday when I visit Dad’s sick room! On January 10, 2008 my Dad went through surgery for a blocked intestine, which revealed a mesenteric carcinoma that was well advanced. And, in the year that passed, he has gone from thin, to weak, and for the last several months to confinement in his bed. His dignity and independence has been taken away, little by little; and now he requires ‘round the clock care like an infant, dependent on others to meet even his most basic needs. Even as I write this, I am sitting at his side, getting sips of water, replacing the comforter that he keeps pulling off. This experience, though new to me, is a common road for as the Bible says, “man is destined to die.”

In many funerals, while standing next to a casket holding a lifeless body, I have observed that death leaves us with an abandoned house. I point out that an empty house quickly loses its glory, that it falls to ruin, leaving us to wonder what it was like when it was a home to a family that tended the lawn, planted flowers, and fixed the fence! At death, the spirit leaves the body, and we are left with a shell, nothing more! Death is ugly- both in the process and its apparent finality. And yet… Oh, how thankful I am that death is not the End!

The Bible says, "So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. … And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. … It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength." (1 Corinthians 15:22, 26, 42-44, NLT) This is the wonder of our Christian faith. My Dad’s body is broken, his physical life ebbing away. But, our hope is strong, for we see Jesus Christ once dead, now alive. He is our Prototype, His experience promised to be our experience.

Again from the Bible: “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. … Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever." (1 Corinthians 15: 45, 49-50, NLT)

Do I understand how all this happens? No! It is faith-based. How can such an ugly process lead to such a glorious triumph? Only God knows. "But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57, NLT) My hope today is not shaped by science, though I value the knowledge it brings me. My hope does not grow from philosophical systems that explain mysteries to me, though I appreciate the importance of wisdom! I trust in God!

Here’s a word from the Word. It gives me courage to face this last enemy – death – and I pray it will encourage you, too. Jesus gave this Promise to His disciples the night before He went to the Cross. “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am." (John 14:1-3, NLT)
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The kingdom of our God is here,
Heaven is in my heart.
The presence of His majesty,
Heaven is in my heart.
And in His presence joy abounds,
Heaven is in my heart.
The light of holiness surrounds,
Heaven is in my heart.

His precious life on me He spent,
Heaven is in my heart.
To give me life without an end,
Heaven is in my heart.
In Christ is all my confidence,
Heaven is in my heart.
The hope of my inheritance,
Heaven is in my heart.

We are a temple for His throne,
Heaven is in my heart.
And Christ is the foundation stone,
Heaven is in my heart.
He will return to take us home,
Heaven is in my heart.
The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come!"
Heaven is in my heart.

Heaven Is In My Heart

Kendrick, Graham© 1991 Make Way Music (Admin. by Music Services)
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