The beast had blood red pupils set in pale eyeballs. His teeth dripped with wet, stringy anticipation. He could afford to wait. After a while, everyone came to him to be easily consumed. You know the name of the beast.
Mortality.
And he waits for you. Patiently.
And far scarier than his visage is his proximity. He’s elusive, hard to track, hard to place. He appears at one moment far away, safe. And the next moment, mortality is next to you, close enough to feel his hot breath.
Reminders of his creeping nearness abruptly intrude into our blissful denial regarding his presence. We would rather not acknowledge him, but almost everyday, he makes himself known.
Recently, the wife of a dear friend was diagnosed with cancer. Without symptoms, the discovery was unnerving and frightening. Mortality.
A plaintive email from a young woman carried her request for comfort. She described the sudden death of her 38 year old brother from a heart attack. It was heartbreaking to read. Mortality.
Mortality, with its many faces, is no discriminator of people. There is no age group, race or economic strata free from his consuming hunger. He visits in the night and every day of the year.
He can’t be harnessed, held back, bridled or put off.
And the reality is…he hungers for you. 100 percent of us will find ourselves in his jaws. We could despair over the certainty of impending death. We could grow morose or cynical.
Or is there another way to face the beast? Is fear and trepidation the only way to face the future?
Not for a follower of Christ. Jesus Christ accomplished something no one had before or has since. He died and then three days later, rose from the dead and lives evermore. He took the wound of mortality and was buried with it, but in three short days conquered death and the grave.
In raising from the dead, Jesus not only proved His identity as Messiah--the very Son of God--He also took away the sting and fear of death for all who put their hope for eternal life into His hands.
Easter proves the power of God over death. Easter proves that the grave is not the end. And like a comma in a sentence, death is merely a pause before the rest of the story.
Our days on this earth are numbered, but in Christ, we carry the hope of everlasting life beyond this earth.
Put your trust and hope in Christ. Ask Him to become the forgiver of your sin and the leader of your life. He will not only guide you through your time on earth, but will guide you beyond the grave to your heavenly home.
With confidence we can now say to the beast: Mortality….you ain’t all that!!
Mortality.
And he waits for you. Patiently.
And far scarier than his visage is his proximity. He’s elusive, hard to track, hard to place. He appears at one moment far away, safe. And the next moment, mortality is next to you, close enough to feel his hot breath.
Reminders of his creeping nearness abruptly intrude into our blissful denial regarding his presence. We would rather not acknowledge him, but almost everyday, he makes himself known.
Recently, the wife of a dear friend was diagnosed with cancer. Without symptoms, the discovery was unnerving and frightening. Mortality.
A plaintive email from a young woman carried her request for comfort. She described the sudden death of her 38 year old brother from a heart attack. It was heartbreaking to read. Mortality.
Mortality, with its many faces, is no discriminator of people. There is no age group, race or economic strata free from his consuming hunger. He visits in the night and every day of the year.
He can’t be harnessed, held back, bridled or put off.
And the reality is…he hungers for you. 100 percent of us will find ourselves in his jaws. We could despair over the certainty of impending death. We could grow morose or cynical.
Or is there another way to face the beast? Is fear and trepidation the only way to face the future?
Not for a follower of Christ. Jesus Christ accomplished something no one had before or has since. He died and then three days later, rose from the dead and lives evermore. He took the wound of mortality and was buried with it, but in three short days conquered death and the grave.
In raising from the dead, Jesus not only proved His identity as Messiah--the very Son of God--He also took away the sting and fear of death for all who put their hope for eternal life into His hands.
Easter proves the power of God over death. Easter proves that the grave is not the end. And like a comma in a sentence, death is merely a pause before the rest of the story.
Our days on this earth are numbered, but in Christ, we carry the hope of everlasting life beyond this earth.
Put your trust and hope in Christ. Ask Him to become the forgiver of your sin and the leader of your life. He will not only guide you through your time on earth, but will guide you beyond the grave to your heavenly home.
With confidence we can now say to the beast: Mortality….you ain’t all that!!
