Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Luke 24:5-6 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen."
RESURRECTION JOY
There is a certain excitement on Easter Sunday. It's not just the Easter baskets and Easter dresses, it's more than that. It's not just that it's a holiday with special foods and family gatherings. It's not just the special music or the joyful Easter hymns either.
After 40 days of Lent, of watching Jesus trudge under the weight of our sins, be beaten, suffer and die, the revelation that it was not all for nothing -- but rather a complete victory -- is incredible.
So why does this excitement seem to wane and fade away? Why don't we feel the same excitement every time that we gather for worship? Could we somehow bottle the excitement of the resurrection and take a little every Sunday?
Oh that we could bottle it for those times when we are down and out, but emotion is like that, it comes and goes, and that's why our faith is not to be based on how we feel (which changes) but upon what the Holy Scripture declares (which does not change).
We can renew our resurrection joy by returning to the Scriptures and the empty tomb. It was there that the two messengers of God both asked the question of the ages and submitted the exclamation that has changed our lives (Luke 24:5-7): "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"
