Resurrection Strength

In a cemetery in Hanover, Germany, there is a grave on which were placed huge slabs of granite and marble cemented together and fastened with heavy steel clasps. It belongs to a woman who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Yet strangely, she directed in her will that her grave be made so secure that if there were a resurrection, it could not reach her. 

On the marker are inscribed these words: "This burial place must never be opened." In time, a seed, beneath the stones, began to grow. Slowly it pushed its way through the soil and out from beneath them. As the trunk enlarged, the great slabs were gradually shifted so that the steel clasps were wrenched from their sockets. A tiny seed had become a tree that had pushed aside the stones.

The dynamic life force contained in that little seed is a faint reflection of the tremendous power of God’s creative resurrected Word. Unbelief cannot deter the resurrection. But faith in the risen Christ opens the door to blessings that His resurrection guarantees.

In Revelation 1:17-18: We find the words of Jesus, ”Don’t be afraid! I am the First and Last. I am the living one. I died, but look–I am alive forever and ever!”

This Easter Season, there is perhaps only one question? “Do we see the real Jesus?”  Do we see Him as He truly is or have we created a Jesus in our mind that is as real as the Easter Bunny?  May we take some time this Easter to make sure that we are seeing Him clearly. We need to make  sure we are building on the right foundation; the foundation that will stand through any storm and lead us to life eternal. Our challenge today is to see past all the images of Jesus created by the world (whether good or bad).  Our images and concepts of God cannot save us.  Only the Resurrected and Living Jesus can do that.

May we, our God,

in the wake of Easter,

ride a wave of irrepressible hope—

rising from the deep

following the trajectory of love

over the turbulences of our living

and through the currents.

So within joy,

may we sense Your presence

hovering ever with us—

ever speaking

new creation—

ever calling us into possibility.

Amen.