it's time for encouragement from our daily bread devotional for today titled the meaning of life was written by Kenneth Peterson
 a short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis for Hays tells of a Roman soldier Marcus Rufus who drinks from a secret river that purifies men of death in time though Marcus realizes immortality wasn't all it was cracked up to be life Without Limits was life without significance in fact it is death itself that gives meaning to life Marcus finds an antidote a spring of clear water after drinking from it he scratches his hand on a thorn and a drop of blood forms signifying his restored mortality
 like Marcus we too sometimes despair over the decline of life and the prospect of death we agree that death gives significance to life but this is where the stories diverge unlike Marcus we know it's in Christ's death that we find the true meaning of our lives with the shedding of his blood on the cross Christ conquered death swallowing it up in Victory for us the antidote is in the living water of Jesus Christ because we drink that all the rules of Life death and life and Mortal have changed it's true we won't Escape physical death but that isn't the point Jesus up and all our despair about life and death in Christ we are reassured with the hope of heaven and of meaningful joy in eternal life with him
 today's our daily bread devotional scripture reading is from 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verses 53 58
 I declare to you brothers and sisters that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable listen I tell you a mystery we will not all sleep but we will all be changed in a flash in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound the dead will be raised in perishable and we will be changed for the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the Mortal with immortality when the perishable has been closed with the imperishable and the Mortal with immortality then the saying that is written will come true death has been swallowed up in Victory
 where oh 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 there for my brothers and sisters stand firm let nothing move you always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain
let's pray
 oh God aging is so hard would you help us not to fear it or death but to embrace each stage of life is part of your plan for us then to celebrate you were many promises about Deliverance into eternal life with you thank you Lord It's in Jesus name that we pray amen
 thanks for listening my name is Wes Ward and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries