Get Up and Seek Jesus
Easter is about more than serving Jesus. It's about getting up to seek Him, too. Luke's gospel says: "While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, 'Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!'" (Luke 24:4-6)
Shereen and I used to live across the road from a graveyard. Every Saturday we would see scores and scores of cars pulling into that place for burial services. If the wind was blowing the right way we would hear the preacher over the speakers proclaiming eternal life for those who died in Christ.
But we know that the people who gather for those services aren't expecting anybody to jump out of the graves there! They might believe in being reunited with those they've lost in the next life. But they are there to bury the dead, not to encounter the living.
Mary and the women did the same thing that morning. They came to look for a dead man, and were told to their astonishment that He was alive.
Seeking Life in All the Wrong Places
One of the sentences that has most shaped my life in recent years is this one: why do you look for the living among the dead? Because I think there is a spiritual lesson here. I think so often we seek life in things that are dead. We seek pleasure in things that are ultimately pleasureless. We seek joy in things that are worldly and temporary.
I wonder how often you and I have found ourselves scouring spiritual graveyards, looking for something to give us life - and God's saying why are you looking for the living among the dead?
How often we are content to watch godless entertainment on Netflix or TikTok or YouTube...
How often we are content to scroll endlessly through our Facebook or Instagram feeds, hoping for something that will fill the emptiness for a second...
How often God must watch us and say "why do you look for the living among the dead!" Why are you looking for life and fullness in empty things?
Did you enjoy some Easter eggs on Sunday? We all know that Easter is not about Easter eggs, don't we? We all know that it's about Jesus rising from the dead. But how often do we spend our lives looking for another Easter egg, another thrill, another treat!
Finding True Life in the Risen Jesus
When the greatest thrill, the greatest treat, the greatest giver of life is found in encountering the risen Saviour Jesus.
What if this Easter is the one where you seek Jesus - instead of just His gifts!
What if this Easter is the one where you soak in prayer and worship and wonder, because you find life there with Him that you don't find in other places!
Let's get up and seek the One who is Life, who gave Life, who defines life, and find the fullness of life that He gives, rather than seeking the living among the dead.
The women came looking for a dead man and found an empty tomb - they were seeking in the right place. Ask yourself today whether you are looking for life in Jesus, or in things that will never truly satisfy.