Morning Devotional

September 25, 2003

"No Stinger Left"  

by Don Emmitte

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But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us. Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die. For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die. When this happens--when our perishable earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die--then at last the Scriptures will come true: "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord! So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58).

I don’t often preach at funerals any longer. However later this morning I will lead the memorial service for a very dear man that I have known for a long time. Weldon Watson first welcomed our family to Weatherford with an invitation to his home for Sunday lunch. My boys were young at the time and he entertained them with his many projects. He was a meticulous craftsman. His shop was filled with interesting tools and projects in one stage of completion or the other. In preparation for the service the following story came to mind: 

A vacationing family drives along in their car, windows rolled down, enjoying the warm breeze of the sunny day. All of a sudden, a big bee darts in the window and starts buzzing around inside the car. A little girl, highly allergic to bee stings, cringes in the back seat. If she is stung, she could die within an hour. "Oh, Daddy," she squeals in terror. "It's a bee! It's going to sting me!" The father pulls the car over to a stop, and reaches back to try to catch the bee. Buzzing around toward him, the bee bumps against the front windshield where the father traps it in his fist. Holding it in his hand, the father waits for the inevitable sting. The bee stings the father's hand and in pain, the father lets go of the bee. The bee is loose in the car again. The little girl again panics, "Daddy, it's going to sting me!" The father gently says, "No honey, he's not going to sting you now. Look at my hand." The bee's stinger is there in his hand. ¹ 

Our reading today says, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" There is One who knows the sting of death, the sting of sin, the sting of deceit, the sting of feeling worthless. He has all of those stingers in His hands. When you see that nail-scarred hand, realize that, on your behalf, He took all the pain that the enemy could throw at Him. He reduced the enemy to a big black bee that's lost its stinger--all the devil can do is buzz. That's the victory that He won for you. Weldon Watson has won that victory. Have you? 

1.       Edited from Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice.