We often look in all the wrong places for what we need most in life. We try to find meaning and purpose instead accepting the meaning and purpose God created for us. Like the two Mary’s we search for the “living among the dead.” We also worry a lot about things that have already been taken care of like they did. Who’s going to roll away this huge stone? Well, it’s already been taken care of. In addition we often fear things that we should not be afraid of, like they did. When they Angel appeared to them, the first thing he said was “Don’t be afraid.” This is the standard opening phrase spoken by most angels upon their first appearance to humans. We are naturally afraid when we encounter things we don’t understand.
When Jesus walked on the water on the Sea of Galilee he approached the boat where his disciples were. They were frightened. I imagine that was a pretty frightening image; Jesus walking across the waves and as though a stone path had been laid for him. As He approached his frightened disciples he shouted above the wind and the waves, the same thing he always shouts to us in the midst of the storms of life. He says, “Be of good cheer! It is I. Don’t be afraid. No matter how violent the storm in your life might be, no matter what it is you’re struggling with, Jesus says the same thing to all of us. Three of the shortest sentences in the bible: Be of Good cheer. It is I. Don’t be afraid.
The resurrection removes for you and I through our faith in the resurrected one, the fear of death. It just evaporates before the empty tomb. He assured us that there are many mansions in His kingdom and he promises to take us to be with him forever. We can all say, “O Death, where is your sting!”
Chuck
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? …But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:55-57