When my mom was alive and living in New Jersey we would have cause to drive
up and see her about once a month. On the way there we would pass by a
cemetery that seemed to have endless rows of graves. It always sobered me to
glance out the window and think about all of those people who once walked
the earth like you and I. They had their families, their dreams, their
passions and purposes. They felt as alive as you and I do right now….and
yet they are in the grave and we are still here. When I lived in Drexel Hill
I enjoyed riding my bike through a local cemetery because of the many long
smooth paved roads that intertwined in a variety of ways. Sometime I would
stop to rest and couldn’t help but notice the gravestones right in front of
me. “Here lies the beloved mother of”. Here lies the devoted husband of”. I
would also notice the dates of people’s birth and death and do the math to
figure how long they lived. Eighty years. Thirty seven years. Twelve
It is incredible to think that in just two small experiences…a drive up to
New Jersey and a bike-ride around a cemetery I passed thousands of people’s
grave sites. It makes me think about what response I would have if I saw all
the gravesites that populate all of the world’s surface all at once. How
many millions of graves would I be looking at. How many graves of people who
were so alive would I see? I suspect it would take my breath away. I imagine
that one of the things I would conclude is that death has certainly taken
its toll and that no one is immune. But all of this reminds me of some
verses in scripture that tell us that even though it seems like death is
having its way and ruling over many kind (for who can escape it…), this is
Consider these verses:
http://biblehub.com/romans/5-
trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more
did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus
Christ, overflow to the many! <http://biblehub.com/romans/5-
can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The
judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed
many trespasses and brought justification.
<http://biblehub.com/romans/5-
man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who
receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness
http://biblehub.com/romans/5-
resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted
in justification and life for all people.
<http://biblehub.com/romans/5-
of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of
There is no question that the sin of Adam and the curse that followed has
extracted a heavy payment from mankind. The filled cemeteries show us that
death has had its sting. But what is the real picture? The real picture is
that many, many of those souls have entered into eternal life with God and
the grave was not the end. It is just for now that the darkened tombstones
seem to tell the final tale but as you consider their mark let your heart
fill with praise as you read the following scriptures and meditate on the
“Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51
<http://biblehub.com/greek/
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instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet
will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed….” 1 Corinthians 15:51
“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one
could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before
the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were
Let us not mourn over the endless gravesites as others do, for we know that
our redeemer lives and He will indeed raise us up. This is not a grave
For the praise of His name,