by Keisha Pierce
Every Easter, I hear the Christian anthem, “Death is swallowed up in victory, O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:55
The next verses read, “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.” Amen!
I rejoice and celebrate as I meditate on this amazing proclamation! But shortly after, my heart sinks as I realize that this isn’t true for everyone. On this earth, there is a tangible sting when we lose a loved one, but it becomes more painful if that person never knew Jesus as Lord.
Paul says that he has great sorrow and unceasing anguish for the lost, to the point that he would trade his own salvation, if it meant that the Israelites could know God. I can’t even pretend that my heart is anywhere close to where Paul’s is.
But, in part, this is why I do what I do. We are first and foremost in South Sudan because God called us here. And we could not do what we do without that call. The call began however, with a cry to our God to use our lives to bring people to Him. Oh, how my heart longs for my life to be used in such a way that would bring the knowledge of my God to a broken and hurting world.
I’ve seen more deaths over the last 2 years than the 29 years before. Husbands, children, fathers, sons.
It hasn’t been any of my personal relatives, but I still feel a sting of their pain as I watch my friends mourn the loss of someone so close. I see all-too-well the sin around me that leads to death and destruction for millions of people that don’t truly know the love of God. They don’t have the peace that transcends all understanding or know of a joy unspeakable.
I don’t want to keep these things to myself.
We have an answer to the spiritual poverty that plagues every continent and every country on this great big planet. May each of our lives be a vessel, an instrument that brings the message of reconciliation, the message of a Savior, the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ!