Memory Verse: “The sting of death is sin.” 1 Corinthians 15:56
Last fall, in the town of Lansing, Illinois, there was quite a disturbance. It was about 11:45 p.m. on a Thursday evening when the Lansing police dispatcher got the first call reporting, “A truckload of beans has tipped over.” The policemen reporting to the scene discovered that it was not beans, instead it was a truckload of bees that had tipped over—ten million honeybees!
Melvin Oakes, of North Dakota, was trucking 500 hives of bees to Georgia where they were going to be kept for the winter. The truck had tipped over, spilling the hives onto the roadway and breaking 50 of them. The bees were upset and flying all around, stinging everyone who came near.
The police were completely unprepared for what they found. “When we got to the scene, we didn’t know what to do first,” said Lansing Police Sgt. Keith Smith. “We looked in our list of emergency phone numbers and found a number for ‘beekeepers.’ " A few calls soon brought volunteer helpers from several beekeeper groups.
Although all of the volunteers were stung more than once (one of them was stung 20 times on the neck and arms), they worked all through the night trying to repair the hives. They had been given a deadline to meet. They knew that once daylight arrived, about 5:30 a.m., there would be lots more traffic on the highway, and the warming temperature would make the bees much more active. The police and volunteers worked hard trying to meet the deadline.
Bees and their sting suggest a verse in the Bible that speaks about the “sting of death” (1 Cor. 15:56). We know that death is all around us in this world. Sometimes it is boys and girls who die. Other times it is fathers and mothers or other people we love. Everyone knows what we mean when we say, “He died.”
As you think about death, does it worry you? Are you afraid to die? I am sure you are if you are not a Christian. If you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, the Bible tells us that you are still lost in your sins and on your way to hell. There you will be punished forever because of your sins. That is why you should be afraid of the “sting of death.”
A Christian is not afraid of death. To him God’s Word says, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55. A boy or girl, or anyone, who has asked the Lord Jesus Christ to be his Saviour knows that he will not be punished for his sins. Why? Because he knows and believes that the Lord Jesus was his substitute and was punished for his sins on the cross. The Lord Jesus bore the punishment for all who have trusted in Him. His blood that was shed on the cross has washed each one clean of any trace of sin. Each of them can say, “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57.
The beekeepers continued to work toward the 5:30 a.m. deadline. That was the time set by the mayor of Lansing. If the bees could not be captured and returned to their hives by that time, they were to be destroyed.
The beekeepers hoped that the bees and hives could be saved. “We know how much money they cost,” one of them said. The truck driver said they were worth almost $100,000.
The beekeepers worked as hard as they could, but could not get enough of the hives repaired. Finally, just as it was starting to get light, the mayor gave the order to destroy the bees. The hives were all piled up and firefighters set fire to them, destroying all of the bees.
What a loss! But for any of you who are still lost in your sins, the loss of your soul in hell is far, far worse. You still have the opportunity to be saved. Tomorrow it may be too late. Right now, as you read this, ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save you. Tell Him that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself.
The deadline is coming very soon, and after it comes it will be too late to be saved. That deadline is the coming of the Lord Jesus for those who believe on Him. The Bible says of His coming that it will happen in the “twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52). In that short instant all who know Him as their Saviour will be taken from this world to be with Him. Those who are left behind will have missed their last opportunity to be saved.
“God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.
ML-05/01/1983