Why Do You Look for the Living among the Dead?

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 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” (Luke 24:1-5, NIV)?

Words like “conclusion” and “irreversible” enter my mind upon a person’s death. The gravity of death pulls us to think it is final. However, for Christians the grave is not final; it is more like the beginning. Jesus’ death was terminated with new life. “He is not here; he has risen” (Luke 24:6a). Jesus’ death was the beginning of new life for everyone who had followed and would follow him.

Hours after his death, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary (Luke 24:10) went to the place where Jesus was buried. What do you suppose they were expecting? They expected see his body lying still, grayish, cold, wounded, and without life. They were not happy. Death drains joy from the living; there is no hiding that. Neither euphemizing death as some generic passing nor renaming the funeral service that commemorates it as some generic celebration of life does not fix death’s joyless and cold sting. Death is hell, and Jesus’ mother and her friends were experiencing it. That is, until they stumbled upon evidence of life permeating Jesus’ former grave.

Nothing brightens a day like life. Holding a new baby automatically makes me smile. Also, the joy that comes when God saves a sinner is unavoidable. The church rejoices in new life and new salvation!

In the same way, the mourning women who expected to embalm Jesus’ body were jolted with joy upon hearing this question, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Like in any mystery their curiosity was overwhelming, Jesus’ body was gone. They probably figured someone stole his body. After all, that was the logical conclusion, but then they heard that question:

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” The Son of Man, Jesus, is alive. Death could not hold him. Just as he taught his disciples, so it was (Luke 24:6-9). Joy crowds out the darkness of hell with this question.

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” There is hope for every Christian. We who are in Christ will not die forever, just as Jesus didn’t die forever. We will be resurrected, just as Jesus was resurrected. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25).

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Stop thinking that death is the conclusion. In Christ, death is reversed. For just as Jesus arose from the ashes of death, so does the church at his return.

And when he returns, perhaps it will be asked of those who look for us at our graves, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

How Many Times Can You Forgive Somone?

Showing others mercy as God has shown mercy to you is a visible mark of genuine conversion. In this article I deal with Peter's question to Jesus about mercy in Matthew 18:21-22. My post can be viewed over at Western Seminary's blog, Transformed. To view my article click here.

Enjoy Him Forever

Has Christianity become a chore? For a lot of men it has. In most churches the number of women is greater than the number of men. It appears that Christianity or church is just another chore for many men. This was my attitude for a season. I worked a lot of Sundays because there was work that needed to be done on the ranch. My attitude didn’t change quickly. For a time, shooting trap and bird hunting was more important than Christianity. Those activities brought me joy. Unfortunately my heart toward God was cold. Christianity became a chore without much joy. 

I’m writing this from our couch where I’m ill, but I’m grateful for this illness because in it I’m reminded to enjoy God. Perhaps one of the reasons God takes our physical strength away is to remind us to enjoy him. Enjoying God is the best we can do in situations like this, and may be the only thing we are able to do. I didn’t have the strength to preach last Sunday, and haven’t felt well enough to leave my house. However, I can enjoy God by singing to him, praying for you, reading my Bible, and meditating upon his wondrous grace and faithfulness.

As a church, have we forgotten to enjoy God? Think about the first line of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “What is the chief end of man? Answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” Glorifying God is not complete without enjoying him. Remember Lazarus’s sister Mary? She enjoyed God, but Martha was too busy for Jesus. 

Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said. But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42, NET). 

Mary chose to enjoy Jesus instead of the chores, and she made the best choice. Who do you think made the best choice? Was it Martha who was busy working, or was it Mary? Mary wasn’t afraid of Martha, the Lord had walked into her house and she was going to savor each moment. Perhaps the better question is, why isn’t Martha enjoying Jesus with Mary? And why don’t we enjoy Jesus like Mary did?

Philippians 4:4 reads “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Paul wrote that with enthusiasm because he had learned how to enjoy God in every circumstance. And now he tells the Philippians, and us, to always rejoice in the Lord. Enjoy God in your poverty, or in your wealth. Enjoy God in your sickness, or in your health. We must learn to enjoy God at all times without letting circumstances get in the way. Martha allowed kitchen work to pull her away from joy in Christ. You may allow your job to pull you away. Whatever it is that is pulling you away from enjoying God at home, and with your church family, set it aside and come back to Jesus. 

As we begin 2016 we could start a new list of chores, but all that matters is Jesus. If you make a list, put Jesus at #1. Determine to enjoy him every day of your life in 2016, enjoy him by hearing his word read, preached, and taught. Enjoy him as you pray to him. Enjoy him as you worship him at home and with our church family. Enjoy him when we take communion. Enjoy him as you care for your children or your grandchildren. Set aside time each day to spend with Jesus, to read and to pray. Then the next day, do it all over again.