I wrote this a while ago.

1 Corinthians 15: 51ish-58 (MSG)

"In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true:


Death swallowed by triumphant Life!

Who got the last word, oh, Death?

Oh, Death, who's afraid of you now?


It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!


With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort."



He was only 20 and and the unfairness of it took my breath away as the people who loved him so deeply cried. I thought of people who should be in his place- evil, selfish people who bring only destruction. When they lowered his casket into the ground I mentally took him out of it and put those people into it. It was so hard to see so many people- a few of my closest friends included- mourning the loss of Nathan Sutton.

At the eulogy beforehand I watched them stand up, unsure yet so confident in what they were saying. Some of them were caught up in brief moments of grief and their voices cracked when they thought about not seeing him ever again. But mostly they rejoiced in his life and the current eternal state he is in. They talked about how amazing he was, how much compassion and optomism he possessed. They celebrated his life. It was truly a case of love prevailing in the deepest, darkest situations.

Because it doesn't make sense to worry about when or how you will die. That is so insignificant in comparison with the question of how you will live this life loving to the fullest, being a tangible extension of God on earth. Dont hold back- throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.


And then you can truly say "Where, oh death, is your sting now?"