Fear NotSample

Jesus Went First; I Will Be Okay St. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians that the true sting of death is our sin. Human mortality is not beautiful. It is part of the divine curse on human evil. We do well to respect it and understand it. But we do not have to fear it. The reason for that confidence is that our divine and human Savior, Jesus Christ, took on our humanity in order to experience fully every aspect of human life, including the experience of dying. He already went through the process of watching his life ebb away. By bearing our death for us in that way, he took all the sting out of it. "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. . . . He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4,5). This means that dying is not the beginning of the end of everything; it is the beginning of the beginning of everything. It doesn't signify the loss of everything but rather the gaining of everything. Through Jesus' dying, you are guaranteed forgiveness of your sins, a "not guilty" verdict in God's court, and peace with God forever.