I was recently asked by our local newspaper, The Meridian Star, to write a brief article about Jesus’ empty tomb. And as we are entering Spring and approaching Easter, I thought I would share it with you. Here it is:
It is hard to believe that we are now two years into the COVID experience. We’ve been discussing hopes of a “new normal” this entire time, and yet, we continue to find ourselves in a season of uncertainty, looking forward to a more stable future.
But when we stop to think about it, even without COVID our lives are filled with unknowns and uncertainties every day. Unexpected difficulties, illnesses, tragedies, accidents – each day we hear about another friend, co-worker, neighbor, or family member who encounters unexpected tough news. The loss of jobs, the loss of relationships, the loss of health, the loss of loved ones. In the face of these difficulties, added to our two-year ongoing pandemic, we wonder where we can possibly turn to find the hope that we desperately need?
Where is the hope? This is a question that never seems to go away. Fortunately, we are reminded of the answer to this question every Spring. Every year, new buds emerge on the tips of what looked like dead branches, and brown, empty flowerbeds begin to come alive with new growth and new blooms, and the silence of winter is overtaken by the sights, sounds, and songs of new birds and butterflies and other animals arriving on the scene. By all of these signs, we are reminded through His creation that God has power over death. The message of new life in spring is a message of hope!
And the empty tomb of Jesus is the ultimate message of hope that all these other signs of Spring point us toward.
Jesus walked on this earth for around thirty years, and His ministry from His baptism to His death lasted about three years. As Jesus approached Jerusalem knowing that He was about to die to pay the price of all the sins of the world, He knew His disciples were going to struggle with His death. He also knew that in the future they would struggle with the suffering they would endure in this life. And so Jesus told His disciples before He went to the cross – “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. But be courageous! Because I have overcome the world.”
Jesus did not promise us a “rosy” life. He did not tell us that if we trust in Him we won’t have any more problems. Instead, He told us that this life will be filled with trials and difficulties. He said that we would suffer in this world. And we know this He spoke truth, because these past two years have definitely been a time of trial and difficulty and suffering for all of us.
But the story of Jesus promises us a magnificent ending – that after He died on the cross promising to pay the penalty for all of our sinful thoughts, words, and actions, Jesus rose from the dead to prove that He is the Savior and Messiah of this world. The disciples came to the tomb on Easter morning, and they were told by an angel – “He is not here. He is risen!”
And so, when we get discouraged and wonder where hope can possibly be found, whether we are asking the question in the midst of this 2-year pandemic, or if we are asking it in the midst of some other crisis in our lives, we can look to the Empty Tomb of Jesus. Remember that God has the power to make all things new. He even raises the dead to life. And Jesus rose from the dead to prove that He is the Promised Savior. Jesus rose from the dead to bring you hope.
Look to the Empty Tomb of Jesus this year and be changed!
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I now hope to wade back into the waters. I think I will set my new goal to fall somewhere in-between my number of postings from 2015 and 2016 (So I just need to fall somewhere between the narrow range of 7 and 340 posts!). Don’t get excited about me coming back just yet. Let’s see if it actually holds up!