For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Romans 14:9
Not long ago, I saw a bumper sticker that read “Union Members Vote!” Soon after that, I saw another one declaring “Christians Vote!” One bumper sticker I’ve never seen is “Dead People Vote!” although that also seems to be true.
After every election there are stories and editorials that reveal how many deceased citizens cast ballots. Although their bodies are no longer around, it seems that their political voices are not defunct. Actually, what is happening is a form of voter fraud where a living person votes in the name of someone they met in the obituaries.
Legally, dead people can’t vote because the law says they have ceased to be; they no longer exist. Actually that’s not true. They’ve just become non-residents, which also makes them ineligible to vote.
The true essence of a person is his/her soul and spirit. They are real, but can’t be measured or weighed. They aren’t bound in a physical body which can be seen, because they don’t have mass and form. That body eventually wears out or breaks down, but that person’s everlasting soul remains even after the body is buried. That spiritual person moves on to “the place of the dead” (i.e. Hades, Sheol). State, local, and national governments don’t have jurisdiction there, but order and authority are still very evident.
Christ Jesus is the Lord of Both the Dead and the Living. He reigns over the dead, because He’s gone through death, established residency there, and conquered it. He is the undisputed Lord of all that have gone before.
It is safe to say that many more dead people acknowledge Jesus as Lord than the living. Living souls worship other gods or things more than the Master Creator, but one day that is all going to change. At the final Judgment day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of Both the Dead and the Living.
October 31
