by John Grant
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney
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“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?� 1 Corinthians 15:55
Life is full of homecomings. I remember school homecomings and coming home from my honeymoon, carrying my wife into our new home. I recently spent the better part of three months away from home living at the state capitol and returning only on weekends. It was good to get back home. I have done that for 35 years, each legislative session and I always look forward to getting home. After cooking my own meals and living alone for all those weeks, I was really joyful to get back home.
The end of the legislative calendar is marked with “Sine Die,� which literally translated means “without day.� But in the common usage it means the permanent and final adjournment of the legislative session without any extensions or returns. It is over for good. There will be future ones, but this one is over forever.
 Life is like that. Each of is born with a sine die date, the date known only to God, but nonetheless a certainty for all who are born into life on this earth. Solomon said it when he said there is a time for all things, including a time to die. No one, regardless of wealth or worldly rank has been able to escape it. And human tendency is to regard it as a relentless and unyielding enemy. As soon as we are born, death becomes our destiny and though many have tried, no one has developed an antidote for it. It is the ultimate homecoming. The question, though is to which home does one go?
 But, for those who follow Christ and have trusted our life to Him, death is not an enemy, but a glorious destiny. Through the resurrection, death has been defeated and is no longer our enemy. As Christians, we need not fear death, for Christ has gone before us and will welcome us as we enter into eternity with him.
Death frees us to experience the glorious heavenly presence of God. No illness can defeat us. No disaster can rob us of eternal life. For Christians, death is not our enemy, but is nothing less than a vehicle that enables believers to experience God’s glory to the fullest.
I should not let death or the fear of it prevent me from experiencing a full and abundant life, because death cannot rob me of my inheritance as a child of God. With that assurance, I can enjoy my life in peace and earthly fulfillment, knowing that my future is secure and my eternity glorious.
I still have a lot I want and need to do here on earth, so I am not ready for that ultimate homecoming, but I can look forward to it and be sure of it, because my reservation is sure, having given my heart to Christ.
 Have you made sure your eternal room is reserved?
( a thought on life from John Grant )
You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/2009/06/18/jg_home/