Living

Sadness in Death

by Jacob Abshire on March 26, 2015

On the dawn of Sunday, severe mourning swept through the land of Judea. In the hearts of some, life was fearfully different. Three days earlier, the Son of God had been brutally murdered on a cross—the symbol of a violent death.

Still lamenting His death, Mary Magdalene and other women arose early to visit the tomb and anoint the body to offset the stench of decay. They arrived and found the massive stone rolled aside and an unguarded, open tomb. Perplexed, the women rushed inside and discovered the tomb was empty. They were doubly saddened. First, they had witnessed their Lord unjustly murdered. Now, His body had been shamefully stolen. Things couldn’t get worse.

Mary, needing evidence to point her toward the thieves, began searching outside the tomb. Two men appeared to her and asked, “Why are you weeping?” She told them what happened. Then, while searching in the garden, she saw a supposed gardener who asked her again, “Why are you weeping?”

Despite Jesus’ claim to resurrect from the dead, Mary didn’t believe it. She had been too bothered by His brutal death and mistreatment to recall what He had said. It was too much to believe in light of the horror she experienced.

“Mary,” the gardener said. She recognized the voice of her Lord! He was no gardener of the field: He was the gardener of the soul. Mary believed and fell to His feet in worship.

How often do our circumstances distract us from God’s truth, even from Christ Himself?

Times are troubling. The days are evil. But Jesus is alive. He is the gardener of our heart, weeding disbelief and enabling us to  trust Him more. He uproots uncertainty, resolves our anguish, and forgives our sin. Weep no more. Jesus is alive!

A New Discipleship Resource

Creative Content for Christian Men

Instead of comments, I accept and encourage letters to the editor. If you want to write a letter to the editor, you can do so here.