"The Daily Groan"

Not many people knew who Nodar Kumaritashvili was this past Friday morning. By Friday night, the Georgian luger's tragic death at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games was on the minds of sports fans worldwide.

And it got me to thinking ... again ... about the ultimate subject for every human being. I may not be the best person to comment on death since I consider my own experience to be incredibly fortunate. I had four grandparents at my college graduation. Two of them died when I was in my 40s, and one of them still chugs on at age 95. I have been blessed.

If all death ends up being is a release from earthly bondage, then take comfort in that. No more illness. No worrying about money. No broken relationships. No struggle with addiction. And for us as Christians, we know that death is way more than a simple release. Paul writes in II Corinthians:

²Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, ³because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

We have been given the gift of life by our God. We are to use it to glorify and serve Him. But people don't use the term "the daily grind" for nothing. I have no idea where Nodar Kumaritashvili stood in his faith. If he did not stand with Christ, then I choose to celebrate his release from the daily grind. If he stood with Him, then praise be for the heavenly dwelling. The daily groan has lost its sting.