Luke 24: 5
Why do you seek the living One among the dead?
Oh my! This literally made me laugh out loud this week. As Easter is upon us, I was reading all of the accounts of the resurrection. A number of things struck me, but this was loudest. The angels that spoke to the two Mary’s framed the resurrection beautifully, if ironically. They stood in Jesus’ tomb as harbingers of the good news of his resurrection.
He is alive. That is the good news. He is alive today too. I think we lose track of that sometimes as we pour over the historical record of him. He got up from his tomb and he took his body with him. He came back from death to life. Hallelujah. He wasn’t just raised from the dead into a mortal body that would again suffer death. No, he overcame death. He has authority over death and he is alive and well.
So, if, as the angels indicated, Mary and Mary were looking for him in the wrong place, where should we look for him today? Among the living is the obvious answer. He is real. He is not some ethereal entity with no understanding of life on earth. He is God who walked the earth, suffered as we do, and knows the trials we face. He has retained the experiences. He understands. So, we seek him as we seek a real, alive person but, he does not occupy physical space in the earth the same way others do. He doesn’t have a physical location where his body resides and that is where we become challenged.
Let me offer you this. He is literally everywhere. He is right there with you right now. Become aware of your surroundings for a moment. There is life all around you, right? I am not being metaphorical when I say, “He is the life.” He is with you, seated right next to you. His presence is in the air around you. We are not always sensitive to the spiritual beings which occupy the same space we do but he is there. Just believe it.
He is the light. Every time you see a speck of light, remind yourself that is Jesus. He is the Word. Do you want more of him in you and around you? Put the Word in the air. You can play Christian music or even have the Bible read aloud to you. Grasp this though, wherever there is life, there Jesus is. He is in every molecule on the planet. He gives motion to the atoms.
Do you think the two Mary’s perspective changed when the angel told them, “He is not hear, but He has risen?” They ran back to the others and told them the good news. They became the very first people to spread the gospel. Yeah, I think their entire attitude changed. They went from grief to exultation and great joy. So, shall it be when we get a clear perspective of “He is alive.” Our grief shall also turn to joy as we understand that he is with us, right now. He is not on a cross. He is not laying in a tomb. He is the risen Lord who died to give you abundant life.
This Easter, I hope you celebrate a bigger revelation of Christ with you. I pray it fills you with joy. Neither hell nor the grave could crush him and he won’t let them crush you. The living one is with you. Amen.