⁵⁴ Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die,^[j] this Scripture will be fulfilled:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.^[k]
55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?^[l]”

⁵⁶ For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. ⁵⁷ But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:

Dear God, I am struck by the phrase in verse 56, “the law gives sin its power.” The law is what we all want to gravitate towards. JUSTICE! RIGHT AND WRONG! YOU WRONGED ME! And then the shame of having done wrong comes with that as well. The law is what we use to set our parameters for society, but it’s also what we use to judge others and judge ourselves.

“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (verse 57) I had someone come up to me this week and say something negative about someone else. What this person didn’t realize is that people have said the same thing to me about them when they are not around. Where is the grace? As a leader at work, that’s probably one of the hardest things with which I have to deal—employees lightening the heck up and extending grace to one another. Maybe it’s because we need to receive that grace first.

Father, help me to completely receive your grace and then extend it to others. Help me to love you richly, receive your love richly, and then give your love richly. Help me to experience this grace so that the law that guides me might not own my soul.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen