The corpse lay still and silent as maggots wriggled and writhed along its curves and crevices. If it could have tasted anything, it would have recoiled at the pungent mucus seeping into the pores of its tongue. If it could have heard anything, its ears would have strained for the slightest sound in the deep, earthen silence. But it couldn’t taste or hear anything, couldn’t feel the maggots’ coiled bodies as they burrowed into its rotting flesh. It was dead.
The maggots had names. Envy. Greed. Pride. Hatred. There were too many to name them all. There were small ones, each a wayward thought, a deed undone, a word misspoken. There were large ones too—words and actions that had penetrated deep into the hearts of others. Their size had no bearing on their lust for death. They gorged on the rotting flesh around them, their oval-shaped bodies filling out as they consumed the corpse inch by inch in the cold, heavy darkness.
Then, suddenly, the earth shook, and six feet of soil shifted. The grave opened, and light shone in. But this light was not merely seen—it was felt, heard, tasted. It replaced the putrid stench of the coffin with a fresh, sweet aroma. It roared.
The maggots were too sluggish for the light; they didn’t stand a chance. They burned up on the spot, their engorged bodies dissolving into dust.
The light had a different effect on the corpse. Free of the gluttonous parasites, it began to change. Bones and tendons joined together, and gaping flesh was soon woven by strong muscle and smoothed over with fresh skin. Blood began to flow as the heart contracted and released, and the chest heaved as the lungs drew in a long, shuddering breath.
I opened my eyes, stood up, and took hold of the hand reaching down to me from above. • Courtney Lasater
• Read Ephesians 2:1-7. How does this passage describe all of us? You may have heard that anyone who tries to live a good life will go to heaven. What does Ephesians 2:1-7 say about that?
• What does the Bible say is the only way we can be saved? How is our salvation both spiritual and physical? (See John 6:40 and Romans 8:9-11.) If you have more questions, check out our “Know Jesus” page.
• How has Jesus shone His light into the deadly darkness of your life?
“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.†Ephesians 5:14b (NIV)
Read Verses:
Joshua 1:1-9; Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 8:28-39
I was saved at the age of sixteen by Jesus’s death and resurrection, but I remained un-discipled for a few years until I attended...
I’m in my fifties, and one thing I wish I’d known about God when I was a teenager is that He understands perfectly what...
If you have ever been to a school graduation ceremony, you likely sat through at least one speech. Most graduation speeches have two components....
