Here we are, just a few weeks on the other side of Easter and for most of us, it is life as usual. We carry on, as we always have, performing our duties and responsibilities and trying to do the best that we can. And there is honor in that aspect of daily life. As long as we are keeping 1 Corinthians 10:31 in mind (summarized as “whatever you do, do all for the glory of God”) then God will use our daily lives for extraordinary things.
But for just a few moments, let’s go back to that first Easter morning and in particular to the moments immediately following the arrival of the women to the tomb. We see their alarm, their worry and their fear that Jesus’ body has been taken and that He is not where they expected Him to be. How will they be able to carry out their duties? How can they anoint his body for burial and follow the proper procedures if His body is not there?
While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? (Luke 24: 5-6) NASB
Seeking the savior and looking to serve Jesus should be a lifelong pursuit. But do we sometimes get so caught up in ritual, in duty and in procedure that we miss the divine? I know that I do. I know that I have a certain way of doing things and tend to follow a certain schedule as I go about my day and that interruptions or deviations from that schedule are usually met with irritation and annoyance rather than as opportunities to serve or to grow.
Shouldn’t I be using my eyes of faith instead? Shouldn’t I be inviting God to step in to my regularly scheduled life and do something totally unexpected? After all, this life I live is not my own. It is a life that is bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me!
And unlike the women at the tomb on that first Easter morning, I know Jesus is alive. I know that He is the resurrected Lord. I also know that He has made me alive spiritually and no power in heaven or on earth can stand against His will being done. So why do I so often fall back into routine and walk by sight instead of by faith in my living savior?
All I can say is, and this goes for all of us, that we will never find the living savior among the dead things of our old life and our old mindset. Jesus is alive and He has made us to be alive with Him and to have life more abundantly as we walk by faith, step by step with Him. It’s time to let the old ways go. It’s time to forget those things that are behind and press on towards that which God has for us. It’s time for us to seek the living savior and leave that which is dead well enough alone.