by Timothy W. Burnett
Paul finishes the subject with, ��O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?� The sting of death is sin. And the strength of sin is the law� (1Corinthians 15:55-56). Death will have no more stinging power and God�s born-again children will no longer be bound in the graves of the dead.
�But thanks to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ� (verse 57). This is not about our own victory, but about the victory which is from God in heaven, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let�s be thankful to God in heaven.
�Therefore, my beloved brethren, be stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. For you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord� (verses 57-58). The word �therefore� in essence is saying, considering all that you�ve learned before, this is what I have to say. Verse 58 basically teaches how knowledge of the future event applies to our everyday lives now.
The day of Christ is the event that God wants His children to guard in their hearts and keep right in front of their mental eyes. God likens it to a track race. Runners are stedfastly unmoveable as they strive for the finish line. It says in 1Corinthians 9:24, �Don�t you know that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run, that you may obtain.�
Just as runners focus on the finish line, we patiently run with the day of Christ before our mental eyes. We have this exhortation in Hebrews 12:1, �Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.�
God�s word is filled with stories of His faithful witnesses throughout history. As we run the race, let�s fill our minds with those stories and toss off every piece of mental and emotional weight that holds us down, along with the burdens that go with sin consciousness, and run with patience the spiritual race that is set before us.
Last, but not least, our labor of love and service toward God is not in vain in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. At times we may feel like things are hopeless and that our labor is bringing no results. But God greatly emphasizes that is not the case. As we are examples, teach, plant and water spiritual seed, and personally grow, our labor will not be in vain. With that in mind, we know to patiently run unto the finish line, which is the day of Christ that is set before us.
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