We all detest death. “…Death is the triumph of Satan, the punishment of the Fall, and the last enemy.”[1] Our Creator, who gives life to all, detested it more than we do.
“The Life of Lives that was in Him detested this penal obscenity not less than we do, but more. On the other hand, only he who loses his life will save it. We are baptized into the death of Christ, and it is the remedy for the Fall…[Death is] Satan’s great weapon and also God’s great weapon: it is holy and unholy, our supreme disgrace and our only hope, the thing Christ came to conquer and the means by which He conquered.”[2]
Death is detestable but that is not all it is. As Paul writes to Roman Christians, Jesus’ death is the remedy for our sin. His death on the Cross is an incredible gift.
We are given another gift, too. Because of Jesus’ death, by his grace, the gift of accruing Christ’s righteousness to our account has been given to all who will receive it by faith:
God credits to our account the gift of righteousness: “The words ‘it was credited to him’ [as righteousness] were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” (Romans 4:23-25)
Certainly, there is a sharp sting that accompanies death, but no final victory! Our Creator God turns death on its head and by Jesus’ death on the cross, we receive the highest gift imaginable.
“Where, O death, is your victory?” (I Cor. 15:55).
[1] C.S. Lewis, Miracles, chapter 14.
[2] C.S. Lewis, Four Loves, 59.
The content of this post is from All Creation Sings by Luann Budd.