Advent Devotional - December 12, 2014

“O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free / Thine own from Satan’s tyranny / From depths of Hell Thy people save / And give them victory o’er the grave”

-O Come, O Come Emmanuel

The church in Corinth had their doubts about life after death. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul systematically addressed their concerns by first recounting Christ’s resurrection. He reminds them what the Scriptures said about the Messiah and how Jesus fulfilled those prophecies. He provided a firsthand account of Christ, resurrected, appearing to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Then he reminded the Corinthians that because Christ has conquered death, those who believe in Him will not die (1 Corinthians 15:12-34).

We live in a temporary world. Our time here is a blip in history – here for a moment, then gone. However, for Christians, we have eternity to anticipate. We can live lives that reflect assurance of victory. Jonathan Edwards stated he was “Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour, before I should hear the last trump.” In other words, if Jesus came back within the hour, would I want to have accomplished ________________ (fill in the blank)? Imagine the abandon for Christ we would all experience if we asked ourselves that question in every decision-making process. We can! Christ is already victorious! We should live that way!

As we reflect on the birth and life of Christ this Advent season, remember the triumphant proclamation found in 1 Corinthians 15:56-57: “ ‘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.” Victory over the grave – this is profoundly good news!