1 Corinthians 15:55 (NIV)
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
This summer I had surgery. And I have to say that I was confronted with the fear of death. Not that I was afraid to die because I know to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. No my fear of death was different.
As Christians our fear of death is different. We fear facing God not having lived up to our calling. “Did we really do what he put us here to do?” Some of those things are universal. Others are specific.
For example, we are all called to follow Christ. To live out our lives according to His example. Specifically, one may be called to preach, to write, to sing, etc. We want to please God. We want to leave this earth knowing that we have done so.
This was the fear that I faced because I knew that I had not lived fully. I had not measured up to the calling He has on my life, and that was due to fear. I had to come to an understanding with the Lord that if He led me to it and through it then I would do it.
The weight of that is what fell upon me as I approached the surgical suite and they put me under. However, I realized that it shouldn’t take surgery for me to examine my life and re-evaluate where I stood with my maker.
But I want to stand at the end of this life and say, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
If you were facing the fear of death that I spoke of, would you find that you were living up to your calling?
Leave a comment below about your calling. I love to hear from you.
