The last enemy.

Here’s how St. Paul explains it: The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.  Think of that.  Death is to be destroyed.  Maybe not right off the bat, but in the end, death is destroyed.  What does that mean for all the other enemies: sickness, fear, poverty, pain, loneliness, anger, resentment, sin, and all the etceteras?  Doesn’t it follow then, that if death is the last one, all of these additional enemies will be destroyed first?

When you look at Jesus’ life and example, he was regularly destroying each and every one of those enemies – including death.  He was making plain that any condition that challenged the health, happiness, and holiness of mankind could – and should – be destroyed.  Wow.  And he even said that we – his followers – would do the same thing (see John 14:12).  Double wow.

When you look out at all the solutions provided by the world – medicine, psychiatry, hypnotism, therapy, and on and on – not one of them offers any kind of pathway to destroy ALL of these enemies.  Sure, there are some options for managing, or even occasionally curing, but nothing that can come at all close to destroying.

Does that mean that we have to wait for some final event where all suffering will be destroyed at the same time as death?  No!  The Bible is really clear on this.  Jesus taught his followers to deal with all inharmony here and now.  And they did.  The book of Acts includes numerous examples of them healing sin, disease, and death.  And Jesus pointedly said this was the duty of anyone that followed him – you and me included.  (see John 14:15 and Matt. 10:8)  Triple wow.

So, let us search our hearts, ramp up our faith, deepen our understanding, spend more time pondering the true meaning of the Gospels, and expand our commitment to really be followers of our dear Lord as he commanded.  Since he was not kidding when he told us to go and do likewise, it is surely possible for us to be obedient.  And no enemy can withstand that.

Melissa Hayden is a Christian Science practitioner in Salem, OR. You can find more information and additional articles at this link.  If you like what you’re reading, click the “add me” button.