Victory in the Holy

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57

What does it mean to have victory in the Holy? In 1 Corinthian 15, Paul is distinctly speaking about two specific victories over sin and death. Triumph over sin comes through forgiveness, and triumph over death comes through the resurrection, as demonstrated by Jesus' experience.

In this past year and a half of COVID, I have seen more people die than I have in my entire career (through a similar time period). I have witnessed many faithful people hold on to a belief that God is going to perform a miracle for their loved one. I have observed family desperations in volumes that are overwhelming. Their sweet belief in the light of the darkness of serious illness touches my heart, and I have hoped that their faith claims would be fruitful.?Yet, I must admit that in the ICU's where I serve (recognizing this is the less than 1% of COVID patients), these miracles rarely occur. Just this week a family member shared, from her Christian perspective, that she believed in miracles; and she had just been told her loved one may be close to death. In response, I reframed the concept of miracles. I explained that I believe in two kinds of miracles. First, a more common belief is that one is restored to full physical health. Second, healing occurs (and this is the full and more complete miracle) when we are made whole in God after death. If our future hopes are limited to the finite of the physical aspects of life, then sooner or later it will bankrupt us. For, we all, inevitably, will die.

We are easily influenced to believe the cultural view of victory, rather than looking for the holistic and spiritual view. Some religious cultures tell us one can have victory over any difficult experience through hard work and a fervent belief that the Holy will relieve the struggle. I don't see this aligning with the life of Jesus. He faced his own death, even speaking about it routinely before it occurred, as a way to prepare himself and the ones he loved. His actions demonstrated a transfinite hope in life all the way through death and beyond. It allowed him to face the difficulty and confirm the Holy's assistance in finding a way beyond the heartache of disappointing endings.

I believe victory in the Holy is about the transfinite hope that prepares us to walk through life's difficulties, trusting that the Holy is walking with us through them and beyond.

May we, with God's help, reflect what victory in the Holy means to us!