Uncle Paul

My Uncle Paul died this morning. He was diagnosed several months ago with throat cancer and he succumbed to the disease this morning. The last few weeks have been particularly difficult for him as he got weaker and weaker. My Aunt Shirley, who is my father's sister, made the excruciatingly difficult decision to pull Uncle Paul's feeding tube early this week. He was not able to speak for the last several weeks and he was confined to his bed and it's honestly relieving to know that he's not suffering anymore. Slow deaths are difficult to watch because of the inevitable result that you know is coming, but once it happens it's relieving in a way.

Deaths always cause me to sit quietly and reflect on my favorite chapter of the bible, I Corinthians 15. The hope of the Christian is ultimately grounded on the resurrection of Jesus, and I take so much comfort from this passage:

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

"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. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Paul grounds the steadfast perseverance and trusting faith of the Christian in the victory over death that was won for us by our Lord Jesus Christ. Because He lives, we can face tomorrow.

Please pray for my Aunt Shirley. She's a precious lady, and it breaks my heart to think of what she is dealing with. I won't make it out to the services next week, but I'll be out there at Thanksgiving time. Please pray that God will encourage her spirit, give her strength and comfort and the peace that passes all understanding in these days and weeks to come.

Finally, share Jesus with your friends and neighbors. Ask them about the seeming finality of death, and offer life to them through the person and work of Jesus Christ who, thanks be to God, has secured a final victory over death!