All Things New

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.  (Luke 24:1-3)

It was the first day of a new week when the women walked silently to the tomb of their beloved Jesus. Crushing grief filled their hearts and minds.  Their steps were slow, knowing the days ahead promised to be dark and weary.  The time of mourning had begun, and they would honor their dead friend by tending his body with the prepared spices.

Yet when they reached the tomb, nothing was as they expected!  The stone that sealed the entrance was rolled back.  The tomb was empty.  And Jesus was no longer buried within, because He was ALIVE!!  Imagine their surprise!

And suddenly, the first day of a new week became the first day of a new everything!!  From this day forward, everything was made new!  The impossible was made possible!  Darkness was overcome by light, sin was defeated by righteousness, death was swallowed up by life that day, when Jesus emerged living, breathing, and triumphant out of the tomb!  

When the stone rolled away, a dam broke open and released the invincible resurrection power of God, rushing forth and flooding the earth.  Torrents of grace-filled power that could not be contained pushed aside all doubt, fear, and worry.  Weeping and wailing vanished, giving way to praise and joyful exclamations!  Jesus was alive!!

And this power – this wonder-working power – remains to this day and continues to transform everything and everyone that it touches.  It never stops making all things new.  The Cross that at first appeared like a door, slammed shut in the face of Jesus’s faithful followers, became a gateway into His Kingdom and everlasting life!  Only God could perform this incredible miracle!  Only God, by His matchless power, could turn what the enemy meant for evil and use it for His ultimate good!  

Even today, it is this power – the same power that God used to bring Jesus back to life and raise Him to His rightful place on His throne, this very same power that is at work for all of us who believe in Jesus.  More than two thousand years later, this resurrection power is still performing miracles, still making all things new, still speaking of the victory of the Cross into our lives and into our world.

Dear One, if ever you are feeling defeated, if you lose your way, if you become hopeless and weighed down by the cares of this life, remember Jesus’s friends as they made their way to His tomb in grief, only to be met with the miracle of His resurrection!  We all need this resurrection power made manifest in our lives – to bring us into a new season, to give us a fresh perspective, to renew our strength.  Whatever we need to help us through the day, the week, and throughout our lives can be found by turning to the Cross of Jesus Christ and being filled afresh by His resurrection power.  

A Prayer:

Dear One, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which [God] has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:18-21).  May His remarkable power always be at work in and through your life in new and amazing ways.

Amen.