Jesus is Risen! Alleluia!
We have heard the Easter story so many times, it is easy to trivialize the magnitude of the Resurrection. I have been trying to put myself in the place of the Apostles. I close my eyes and picture them behind locked doors feeling afraid and defeated. I am sure they wondered how they could have gotten things so wrong. Wasn’t Jesus supposed to be the Messiah? Wasn’t He supposed to free God’s people? Instead, He was condemned to a brutal and tortuous death. Imagine the despair they must have felt!
On the third day, as the sun rose after a restless night, Mary Magdalene arrived in a panic. Someone had stolen Jesus’ body. As John and Peter ran and peered into the tomb, there surely was a whirlwind of emotions. What happened? Their thoughts must have turned to the events they witnessed—Jesus’ transfiguration, Lazarus being raised from the dead, Jesus’ predictions about His death and resurrection. The truth of the situation was seeping into their hearts like rays of sunshine seeping through window shutters. Something deep within them knew that life would never be the same again.
I can relate to that feeling in a small way. In my early 20’s after falling away from God, I distinctly remember one night when the inner turmoil reached a peak, and I knelt down and cried out to God. It was as if forty days of Lent were condensed into that one moment, and I begged for God’s mercy and repented. The following morning, I did not hear any angelic trumpets but deep within my soul I knew—something was different, and my life would never be the same.
Each day God calls us to never be the same. Consider the flowers of spring. They cannot remain in the dark soil forever. They must grow and push their way through the earth to lift their heads to the sun. We, too, grow and push ourselves towards the Son. This is especially true during the moments when we feel suffocated and buried by difficult situations in life. God calls us to turn our eyes back to Him and gaze upon the light of His love. That same love that conquered death, can conquer our fears, doubts and heartache. His love brings new life and gives us the strength to grow and blossom.
Today, rejoice and thank God for giving you new life as His beautiful creation!
Bobbi Rol is a wife, mom and part time blogger. She lives with her husband, teen daughter and three rambunctious little boys along the coast of Central California. You can find out more about her here.
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