Why do you seek the living among the dead? Luke 24:5 (NKJV)
The resurrection is everything, isn’t it? It’s a metaphor for the whole Christian life. Without it, what’s dead is just dead. Over. Finished. Buried forever. No hope of new life springing forth. But in Jesus, we have the promise that death is not the final word in our stories, not only in an eternal sense but every day. In the accidents, the bad choices, the disappointments, the thousand other deaths that make up a lifetime.
The worst death of this kind that I’ve ever suffered is the death of a relationship. It’s too painful now to even write the details. But someone I loved and trusted with all my heart broke that trust. And in turn, broke me. It’s as if I were crushed into particles of dust. It has taken years to put the pieces back together. And what I’ve found is that sometimes when you’ve been broken and put back together, you don’t fit back into your old life. At least not in the same way you once did. It’s like pouring new wine into old wineskins. It just doesn’t work.
The problem for me is that I loved my old life. It suited me perfectly. And so, the temptation even now at times is to look back and long for what was. To try to find what I once had. Because the way forward is unfamiliar. Like starting over, it feels harder.
That’s when I hear the voice of the angel: Why are you looking for the living among the dead? You won’t find it. That thing is over. Finished. Gone. But see over here? Where you are? New life is happening. Watch the flowers appear. Listen. It’s the season of singing. Don’t look back. That’s not where you’re going. With Jesus, you rise.
Faith Step: You know that one death, loss, or failure that you just can’t get over? It’s time to scatter the ashes to the wind. Don’t keep them any longer. It’s time to begin rising with your living Savior.
