Isaiah 25:8

He will swallow up death in victory;

It’s easy to forget that caskets and crematoriums were not part of God’s original, perfect plan for the world.

So why do we have funeral homes? Why do we attend graveside ceremonies in cemeteries? The apostle Paul explains it this way: “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

In short, death is the result of Adam’s rebellion—and ours—against God. Defying the King of the universe is the highest form of treason. Sin is a capital crime—meaning our whole world sits on a kind of death row.

Yet God, in perfect justice and love, sent Christ to die for sins, to die in the place of sinners. And when Jesus rose from the dead, he served notice to every undertaker and every gravestone maker: “Your days are numbered!”

In Christ death has been defeated. The grave can’t keep those whose trust is in Jesus. And at Christ’s second coming death won’t simply be defeated, it will be eradicated. He will swallow up death forever.

That’s a great promise to keep in mind the next time you come face-to-face with death.

GOD’S PROMISE TO ME:

• By his death and resurrection my Son paid for sin and defeated death.

• At his second coming my Son will abolish death forever!

MY PRAYER TO GOD:

Jesus, I praise you because you are the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in you will never die—at least not in the ultimate sense. Thank you for the hope of the gospel. Because of you, death has lost its sting. Amen.