1 CORINTHIANS 15:54-58  

Brothers and sisters:
When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility
and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality,
then the word that is written shall come about:
            Death is swallowed up in victory.
                        Where, O death, is your victory?
                        Where, O death, is your sting?
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. 

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters,
be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord,
knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 

SONG OF SONGS 8:6-7 

Set me as seal on your heart,
            as a seal on your arm.
For stern as death is love,
            relentless as the nether world is devotion;
            its flames are a blazing fire. 

Deep waters cannot quench love,
            nor floods sweep it away.
Were one to offer all be owns to purchase love,
            he would be roundly mocked.

VICTORY OVER DEATH 

We have been working through the theme, Lost and Found. Have you ever felt lost? Have you ever felt alone? Jesus is searching for you. YOU WILL BE FOUND. 

Just about everyone has been lost or alone. What kinds of things can affect us this way? Well, you could just say, life. Here are some examples of things that have this affect: 

• Losing a long held job 
• The sudden death of someone you love 
• A mental health crisis 
• A catastrophic illness 
• Years of isolation 

A question may come into your mind when you see this happen to someone you know, or if it comes upon you directly. Does anyone care? Does God care? How could you know? What difference could it make? 

The Song of Songs, from the Old Testament, speaks for a basic Biblical view of love and death. Death means all of these things that can make us feel lost and alone. Here we see hope emerge out of the futility of life. “Stern as death is love.” Knowing that you are loved by God, that he made you and wants the best for you. The deep waters of chaos cannot overcome love. Here is hope, but no answer as to where and how this hope will come from. 

First Corinthians 15 explains where death comes from: from sin, the sin which separates all of us from God. More importantly, Jesus Christ is revealed as the one and only victory we are given over death. His death on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead changes everything. 

Giving your life to Jesus is the only way to be victorious. In him, we are victorious over death, over everything that overcomes us. Paul announces the good news of the Gospel, we who are corruptible, who fall and die, will rise again in Christ. We mortals will be clothed with immortality. YOU WILL BE FOUND.