Death Doesn't Have the Final Word
DEATH DOESN’T HAVE THE FINAL WORD
Depending on how long you’ve followed my journey, this post is either going to come as a shock or as a reminder of the content I used to post…either way here goes…
My morning was interrupted by a tragedy in my neighborhood. I stood with a grieving mother as the police informed her that her adult son had died. She melted. As any of us would. It was heart wrenching to watch. It got me thinking about death, about life, and most importantly about faith. On the surface you may see a heavily tattooed foul-mouthed heathen, all coping mechanisms to deal with my soul crushing abandonment and anxiety issues, I’m working on it, I digress.
What you don’t see, or maybe if we have spoken in person you’ve seen, is that I am a person of faith. I’m not just a person who has faith in the random, I believe firmly in Jesus, the resurrected son of God. I wrestle with more doubt than you’d ever want to believe. I don’t care to debate anyone on apologetics or theology, I don’t care. I believe we are ALL loved and most importantly that Jesus offers us a grace that I can’t even comprehend.
Why am I saying all of this? I think this jarring reality this morning reminded me that death doesn’t have to have the final word. Our lives don’t have to be boiled down to what we did and didn’t do. Our own shortcomings don’t have to be weighed against us because the beauty of the Gospel is that if we truly believe verses like John 3:16 as is often espoused from pulpits around the world, then we know that God came for ALL of us. What I’m saying is no matter what you’re struggling with, no matter what you’ve done or are doing, there is hope and most importantly grace.
If nobody has told you today, you are loved and you are worth it. Stop beating yourself up and don’t let death have the last word.
Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? (1 Cor 15:55)
