Upside Down
“Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 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. (I Corinthians 15:54-57 ESV)
Death
A friend in elementary school was the first of our class to have a metal lunch box. The rest of us looked on jealously while, unlike with our paper sacks, HIS sandwiches were not squashed. HIS potato chips were not crunched. HIS cookies were not mushed.
We wanted what he had. And it was easy enough to get. We begged our parents. And soon, I sported a lunch box shaped like a barn… red base, with a black top.
When Christ died on our behalf, He defanged death. When He rose again, He defeated it utterly. When He ascended into heaven, He changed death from a terrible end, to the entrance Gate of eternal life for those who believe.
All culture without Christ is based on avoiding or worshiping death.
Christ turned that upside down!