Today’s Reading: John 20:2 (NIV)
2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!”
Good morning!
I seem to lose things quite easily these days, especially my car keys. I try to toss them in my purse as soon as I walk in the house, and yet, when I’m in a hurry to leave for work, or school, or to get to a meeting at church, it is the car key I cannot seem to find. My purse is not so big that I shouldn’t be able to easily access my keys. I spent fifteen minutes one morning last week trying to retrace steps and look in all the familiar places where I may have laid them down, only to find the keys buried in the bottom of my bag. The next time, I need to turn it upside down and see if they will simply fall out.
It is frustrating that something so simple can be so easy to lose. I’ve often thought of hanging my keys by the back door, but that doesn’t seem like a particularly safe plan, especially in the unfortunate event of encountering an unwanted intruder. Jeff is very patient with me as I continually search for the stuff of my life. I walk out of the house in the morning, only to walk back in because I forgot to grab my lunch out of the fridge, my medication on the bathroom counter, or the badge that allows me access into my office. Is it just me or do you also struggle to hold on to the things that are truly important to your day?
Mary Magdalene was shocked when she reached the Garden tomb and found the stone had been rolled away. Just three days earlier, they had buried the Master there. Who could have possibly moved that stone, or taken His body away? I can see myself in Mary’s shoes, racing frantically from burial plot to burial plot, double checking my steps, and wondering if I had been mistaken about the place where I had left my Savior. Do you ever feel like you’ve somehow lost the Savior along the way?
It is common at times to feel abandoned and alone. We hold fast to faith, only to wonder where faith has disappeared to in the midst of personal hardship and tragedy. How can we lose sight of the Master when life is hard? Shouldn’t Jesus be right where we’ve left Him, within reach? Did we somehow forget to take the Master with us when we began our day? Why do we not hold fast to His promise that Christ is with us always, no matter where we are in life’s journey?
Mary thought the Lord had been misplaced, when He was right there, all the time. Christ is with us, even when we struggle to see where we’ve last laid Him. Hold on to His hope and don’t ever let go.
Grace and peace,
Deb Spaulding
Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO
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