Death and Life

Mortality and the Categories of Man

I believe mortality entered the world in the garden on that fateful day.

Some call it death. Others call it old age.

Yet beneath them both lies mortality—the condition of a creation separated from the life it was created to enjoy.

From that day onward, humanity became subject to decay. Time began to leave its mark upon the body, and death became the final expression of mortality.

Yet mortality did not come alone.

As humanity became separated from the life of God, it also became separated from one another.

The world began dividing people into categories.

Owner or renter.

Rich or poor.

Young or old.

Successful or unsuccessful.

Healthy or sick.

These categories quietly shape the way people see themselves and the way they see one another.

Yet God does not define us by the categories of this world.

He does not see us first as rich or poor, homeowner or renter, young or old. He sees the person He created in His own image.

Scripture declares that mortality is not the end of the story.

"The last enemy to be destroyed is death."

What entered through the fall will ultimately be overcome through Christ until, as Paul writes, "mortality is swallowed up by life."

In Christ, our identity is no longer determined by what we possess, the stage of life we are in, or even by mortality itself. Our identity is found in Him.

The Kingdom of God continually overturns the divisions this world creates.

The world categorises.

God calls.

The world separates.

God gathers.

The world defines people by their circumstances.

God defines them by His love.

Christ came not only to conquer death, but to restore the life that was lost in the garden. In Him, mortality gives way to life, and the categories that divide humanity give way to the unity of His Kingdom.

"For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality."— 1 Corinthians 15:53