- Apr 18, 2022
- 4 min read
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)”
John 20:1-9
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3:1-4
“Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:6-8
The big holidays in Christian churches for all the folks to appear are Christmas and Easter. The verses for today come from John’s account of the resurrection and two letters to the early churches. We start off with an account of the resurrection. Mary Magdalene discovers the open tomb and runs to two disciples. Her first reaction is that the body is stolen. And the two disciples run to the tomb. These folks are running hard to figure out what happened to the body of Christ. And what do they find? They find the wrappings for the body BUT no body.
In the first letter we get the lesson to look to things that are eternal rather than temporal. The analogy that is presented reveals that we are no longer of the earth when we align ourselves in Christ. We no longer exist as a temporal or earthly being. We are to focus on the ways that make us eternal. And the second letter teaches that a little goes a long way and the importance of renewal.
What we do today matters. A lot of us fall into this idea that since our reward is not on earth that we should just stop worrying about this life. And there is some disconnect between what happens here and now and the impact of the here and now on our eternal salvation. When we die like Christ we also get to rise like Christ as well. Sure, we die to the temporal BUT just as Christ we walk around on earth for a time with our transformation and resurrection. We walk around as a sign to others of what transformation and resurrection mean. We get to remain on earth a little while as these transformed creatures in order to do what? Well the letter instructs us to “Set your minds on things above”. We need to concern ourselves with living in alignment with what is eternal even while we walk this earthly journey transformed.
There is a connection between what we do today, what we live in the present, and our eternal. We have to throw out the “malice and wickedness” of the temporal and embrace the “sincerity and truth” of the eternal. We are required to live in accordance, to live in alignment with what is eternal even while we walk here on earth. What we do now matters.
And a little goes a long way. Little changes in our journey make a huge difference each day. A lot of folks want to totally transform on day one and then fail. And then they are back to doubting, back to second guessing, back to questioning, back to the temporal. BUT transformation is a process and if you can make one thing better each day, if you can commit to being better in Christ in one area each day, if you can make the changes and celebrate those successes, then you are working the journey. Sometimes we get too bogged down by our own imperfections and we don’t see that those imperfections are there to be covered. Those imperfections and failures are the reason for the resurrection and the transformation. We have to transform those imperfections and failures through the help of the Almighty. We can only do that through working the journey. We can only do that through salvation in the eternal. We can only do that through giving up “malice and wickedness”. We can only do that through embracing “sincerity and truth”.
So, today when you feel like a failure, when you feel like you are not living up to your potential, when you feel like a disappointment. Know that failure and disappointment are the struggle of everyone in the Bible BUT also the promise of resurrection and transformation. What we do now matters and a little goes a long way.
Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.