Victory for Tato

Yesterday, Joseph Dueñas, the father and grandfather of the Dueñas family, a family we hold very close and dear, went to be with our Lord. As he and his family have always made us feel like we are part of their family, we call him "Tato."

Tato's presence and smile seemed to bring peace to a room. When he spoke of Godly things, he brought wisdom. We will miss him.

After visiting Tato in the hospital last week, Hannah asked me why people have to die. Death is so mysterious. We live in a world in which it seems we can control almost everything. We can make plans and many times carry out our plans just as we have hoped. We can live as though there is nothing supernatural, like everything happens because we make it happen. But illness and death - they happen despite our well-made plans.

The short answer I gave Hannah last week was that we die because of sin. Paul said in Romans 5:12, "...just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." That's very bad news, but I'm glad I have the good news to share with her!

Paul later says in Romans 6:23 that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (I can't believe that there's not an exclamation point at the end of that sentence!) What good news! Jesus tells us how to receive this gift in John 5:24:

I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

So, how is this possible? Isaiah, the prophet, told of what Jesus would do long before Jesus walked on this earth. Jesus "poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:12). He tells that the Christ "will swallow up death forever" (Isaiah 25:8).

So Tato has victory today - the victory that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 15:55-56:

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin,and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We were blessed to know Tato and we continue to be blessed by his family. We are so thankful that God "made known to [Tato] the path of life" (Psalm 16:10) and that Tato followed it.