O, Death Where Is Your Victory

     Last year I was given a prompt for an essay that read, “If God is a truly loving God, how can he allow pain, suffering and death”. The question was geared to get us into the mindset of being able to answer the question if we were ever asked. Throughout my Christian life I had never really considered this question. I knew that bad things happened, but for me it was just a result of sin. I never connected an all powerful, all controlling God being at the root of the issue.

     At the time of writing the essay, I went through the motions of listening to sermons, and picking through books, and Google searches for verses to prove that despite all the bad in the world, all the pain was just a part of God’s plan, and everything was still in his control. However, I could only affirm part of this claim. I wish that I had devoted more time when researching, because looking back at what I wrote, I feel that I have a deeper understanding of the question, but still this understanding has only left me more confused.

     Shortly after handing in the paper, my grandfather, who was not a believer passed away. Right after he died it really hadn’t sunk in that he was gone, and more importantly, that his eternity was going to be spent completely detached from the presence of God. While I was sitting in the church at his memorial service, the pain hit me like a ton of bricks. As we sang Christian songs, and read scripture instead of bringing me comfort, it only made his death that much harder because I knew that his death brought more pain than he would ever face on Earth.

     The only way that I know how to process what I am feeling is through listening to music, or writing. I listened to song after song to help me grapple with the emptiness that I was feeling. However, no matter where I turned, even to scripture, there was no comfort. Again, I turned to Google to shed some light. But it turned me to a verse in 1 Corinthians “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (15:55).

     Directly after my grandfather died, I wrote this in my journal:

Yet, death still has victory over those who have not taken hold of the love of God. There is no comfort in their deaths. There is no comfort in knowing that there is no more pain or discomfort because the discomfort they experienced on this earth is only being amplified without the presence of Christ. ‘O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is here, the sting of death is now.

The sting of knowing that this earth only proved to be the beginning of the struggles that one must face. Knowing that the only real heaven these people will know is the happy times they had on earth. Knowing that the eternity they are facing is one that cannot even be imagined. An eternity filled with the unceasing pain and suffering.

     Life without Christ is where death holds its victory. A life filled without repentance, and acknowledgement of need of a Savior. This is where I was wrong. Sin, pain and death were never a part of God’s plan. Sin was a result of our actions against our Lord and creator.

More recently I began to think about how God could allow people to die, and why he created a world where people could choose a life without him. I remembered that in my paper I wrote how God created us to have freedom of will so that we were not just mechanical beings doing everything without thought. Instead, God wanted people who would serve him and love him because they want to.

     But still, I don’t understand why God had to create a world that allowed for sin to exist. Why did his perfect plan have to involve the fall of mankind, and the redemption lay in the slaying of a sinless man? Why couldn’t he create a population that did not desire and lust after something so wrong, and unfulfilling.

     The simple answer to the question is that there is pain because of sin, suffering because we turned our face on the Creator, and death because we did not accept His grace.

     However, God is so much more complex than that. It is not as simple as praying a prayer to relieve the pain, or begging for the burden to be lifted. Instead he requires that we put everything in our lives, all possessions and trivial accomplishments for his glory. If we are not willing to do this, our lives will be filled with pain. Not because God is not loving, but because we have disobeyed our Father. It’s the same as if a child disobeys their parents; there are consequences for their actions. But because of the root of the problem is sin; sometimes, innocent bystanders have to pay the consequences.

     God is just. Not just in the world’s perspective, but perfectly just. He does not turn a blind eye when we fall away from his commandments, but instead he holds us completely responsible for our actions. As sinful humans, perfect righteousness seems harsh.

     I may not like this, and I’m sure that before I die, I will have to face the victory and sting of death again. It won’t be easy, and I will struggle with trying to make sense of it all in my head. But until I stand before the throne of God, there are things that I will have to take by faith. This is one of those things.