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And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” ~Genesis 3:17-19
There are some people who never come to grips with the fact they are on a journey which eventually leads to the grave. Every step of the way they struggle and fight against the effects of growing old. Plastic surgery, skin treatments, vitamins, excessive physical exercise, all designed to somehow retain or revive the life that is clinging to dust. This is an attitude of rebellion, and one which refuses to take God at His Word. The life we now experience was given to us by God and it is His to take away. The psalmist understood that and he also understood if there was to be any quickening, or any rejuvenation, then it would come from God; after all He did promise it...
Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? ~Hosea 13:14a
God has a plan for His people and it includes life! The lives we now live are not as they were intended to be. Our lives were never meant to be a day to day struggle filled with pain and sorrow. It is our sin that has a death grip on our bodies, constantly afflicting us with sickness and disease. However, the promise from the Almighty is He would ransom our lives from the grave. He, one day, would redeem us from the power of death and bestow upon us eternal life! The Creator would become the Savior...
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to£ a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ~2 Timothy 1:8-10
Praise God for our deliverer, Jesus Christ! Although the grave awaits us, there is now hope for what lies beyond it. Life and immortality await those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ! In one beautiful redemptive act, Jesus offered His life for ours. Let us rejoice today regardless of whatever affliction troubles us, because someday the eternal life Jesus purchased with His own sinless blood will be ours. It will be without pain and sickness, it will be without crying or trouble, and it will no longer be affected by the ravages of time or destined to the grave. Oh yes, earlier I mentioned we are all destined to the grave. The truth is some will not see the grave; their change will not come after they die, but in the twinkling of an eye...
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. ~1 Corinthians 15:51-57
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