Read: John 20:1-18 The Empty Tomb
Easter Sunday! Why is it important? Is it just about Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies & little lambs? Have we heard it so often we’ve stopped listening? Do we see the wonder & power of God’s love & His plan which the resurrection makes possible?
This scripture from John 20 speaks to me about:
- Overcoming evil: Easter is a time when God turned the inevitability of death into the invicibility of life
- Opportunities for change: ““I am making everything new!” Revelation 21:5
- Orienting our life away from the things that hold us back, following Jesus and celebrating victory over sin.
Imagine you are one of the people at the garden tomb early on that first Easter dawn. Can you see the stars fading, feel the cold and dew, hear the dogs barking and the rooster crow, smell the dry ground and the oleander?
Are you an early riser like Mary? Are you shocked by disappointment as much as she was at the empty tomb? Was she seeking comfort from a dead body? Do you feel as empty as she did?
Are you like impetuous Peter, running ram-stam into the tomb, seeing the cloths still bearing the shape of Jesus but not really understanding?
Are you like John, the beloved disciple, who hesitated with fear & longing before entering, who saw and believed?
Who are you most like?
Let us focus for a moment on Mary. She told the disciples, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they have put him!” When Jesus spoke to her in the garden she couldn’t see him for the tears, and asked him, “If you have carried Him away tell me where you have put him.” She couldn’t see Jesus because she was looking in the wrong direction!
Are we like that? Do we really believe and love Him? Are we looking to follow Him today? If we are His disciples we must believe in His resurrection and we must be looking for him in the circumstances of our lives and be ready to answer His call.
Here are some ways that you can LOOK to Jesus:
L – listen for His voice in our quiet time and let Him speak through scripture and through the circumstances of daily life
O – observe the discipline of His Word and practice His love at home, at work and as we encourage each other.
O – obey His call to witness and serve all who are in need of help and in need of Christ. Just like John Wesley: “Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can for as long as ever you can.”
K – keep on keeping on… in fellowship together, in worship, in service and in looking unto Jesus for every decision and action that we take as we celebrate His Resurrection with joy and liberty every day of our lives.
Robin is a disciple of Jesus, Inspire Missioner, Preacher, and Methodist Minister in Ireland
Roberta, was driving to Omagh, Co.Tyrone, Ireland to play in St Columba’s on Easter morning when she saw a rainbow over the town. She got her junior high school daughter to take this photo. She was surprised later to see the cross front & centre! What a start to Easter morning!
We would love to help you look to Jesus:
- Arrange to chat to an Inspire Missioner about fellowship bands: [email protected]
- Join in an online learning community. Register for the intro to House Fellowship now:
- Use Inspire resources to press in deeper with Jesus. Find out more at the Inspire Book Store.
- Share your prayer requests and/or have someone pray with you. Contact the Prayer Coordinator: [email protected]
