On The Subject of Death

This morning, I am working through Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s sermon, “Thoughts on the Last Battle,” based on 1 Corinthians 15:56-57. “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But, thanks be unto God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Preliminarily, I’ll tell you that the subject of death is not a welcomed guest to anyone’s house. We would prefer to keep death from ever knocking on our door. Of course, the longer we live it becomes more and more likely we’ll hear death’s soon arrival. No doubt, if a change in residences and addresses mattered, we would have already lived in a thousand towns to avoid death’s shadow from ever being cast on our threshold. Of course, there is hope. If you read the Scriptures that Spurgeon preached on that Sabbath Eve, May 13, 1855, then you’d know there is victory in our Lord Jesus Christ. The question now is, ‘Which guest will arrive first. Will death or Jesus?” If only we heard the knock of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and bid him to enter before death’s arrival. Truly, he does stand at the door and knocks, (Revelation 3:20) but what to do… what to do?  

To my knowledge, there are only two eternally relevant guests that may visit… not that either were necessarily invited… but realizing that and knowing that one of the two – death – couldn’t care less if you invited him or not? Maybe, just maybe, you’d find yourself more inviting to Jesus. Who knows? Just a thought. Whether Jesus ever comes to your door and does knock? I pray he does. Oh, and, if he does? Just consider that Jesus is under no obligation to return… death does.