wisdom 2:23-3:9; Ps 34 I will bless the lord at all times; Luke 17:7-10

"God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made them. But by the envy of the Devil, death entered the world, and they who are in his possession experience it. But the souls of the just are in the hands of God, and no torment shall touch them."


Think of these words for a moment.

The answer to the question, "Why is there death?" is found in these first verse. The envy of the Devil brought death to man.

The Devil did not want man to experience what he himself denied, friendship of God, harmony in grace, fullness of life.

This is what Envy is all about. Envy is when we can't have something we want and we don't want anyone else to have either.

It is a terrible reality to be so closed on oneself that we can no longer rejoice in the goodness of the other. It is a terrible reality when we are so blinded by our own self loathing that the goodness of the other causes us pain and remorse.

Envy! The remedy for envy is the willingness to rejoice in the goodness of the other. To rejoice in another's goodness prepares us to recognize the goodness God has put into our lives.

Secondly.

Notice the reading tells us that those in the devil's possession experience death while those in the hand of God, no torment shall touch them.

It seems that those who die in faith experience death but it is an abridged version of death. We do not experience the death of the faithless. There is something different about dying in faith, held by the hands of God, than dying in faithlessness and being gripped by the hand of Satan.

Even in faith, death is not what it could be. In faith, we already experience the fruits of redemption even as we die for death in faith avails us to the warmth and light of the presence of Christ who has filled death with his presence. Death is no longer cold and cruel for in faith we experience the warmth of Christ who has gone before us.

This is different. THis is the gift of the death of Christ for those who die in faith.

Just something to think about to boost your faith.

Death is waiting but in Christ, it is different.