"Very early in the morning...they came to the tomb when the sun had risen." - Mark 16:2
"Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning..." - Luke 24:1
One of my favourite times of the day is the morning. I love to watch sunrises, to see the light filling the sky, bringing the dawn of a new day. I love the stillness and quiet of the early morning, to feel the cool freshness of the morning air on my face and breathe it in...
In two of the gospel accounts of the resurrection, it is mentioned that it was very early in the morning -- as the women came to the tomb they could probably hear their footsteps on the ground, since they were probably the only ones on the road that day. There might have still been dew on the grass, and the air might have been a little cool, since the sun had just risen and had not yet spread its warmth around. THIS is the context in which they discover that Jesus Christ is NOT dead, but alive!
The morning is usually the time of day when I feel most alive, and when something unexpected and joyful happens, it gives me an extra burst of energy...I imagine the women probably ran back to tell the disciples and maybe their hearts beat a little faster with the incredible realization that death could not conquer life!
God gave me a new insight today as I was meditating on this miracle...it's been a week since most of my friends and family celebrated Easter, but the celebration should last longer than just one day. Why, you may ask? Because life really started anew when Jesus arose...
It's like when a baby is born and you begin thinking about all the "firsts" that you will be experiencing, all the things that you are going to do with your child, and suddenly, life takes on a new fullness. It's the same for us -- when we receive the gift of spiritual life that Jesus made possible by His resurrection from the dead, that is JUST the beginning of life!
Here are a few Scriptures about living - REALLY living - in light of the resurrection:
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. - John 10:10
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. - John 17:3
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death,
that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness of life. - Romans 6:4
...always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus,
that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. - 2 Cor. 4:10
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself for me. - Galatians 2:20
This is more than just knowing that we don't have to fear death -- it is living with faith and abundant joy and in complete surrender to our Redeemer, the One who has given us this life.
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