Reflecting on the story of the first Easter, let's look back through the Bible and see what was really taking place.
There was heaviness in the hearts of the women as they walked toward the borrowed tomb of Jesus that morning.
Jesus' body had been quickly removed from the cross before sundown and had been laid in a tomb without having been prepared with the burial spices. So, on the first day of the week, before the sun had risen, these women - with heavy hearts - made their way to the borrowed tomb.
Remember, they didn't know the story like we know the story. They didn't have the Bible to paint the beautiful story. These women were living the story as it unfolded before their very eyes. They didn't know this wasn't where the story would end.
If we think about those women - each woman had a different journey, a different story, a different testimony. Mary Magadalene had been delivered from the torment of seven demons. Joanna was the wife of King Harod's steward and lived in the palace surrounded by pagan worship most likely. Mary, the sister of Lazarus, one of Jesus' closest friends, had received his kindness and forgiveness. These and other women who are not named in Scripture, all had a different story, a different journey to Jesus, a different testimony of how he touched their hearts and lives. But all had come together that morning with one task, one purpose. To serve their LORD.
There is something amazing recorded in the book of Mark. "And they asked each other, "who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" Mark 16:3
I can imagine it. As they walked toward the tomb to prepare the body of their Jesus - their last act of service to their LORD - one of them had a terrible thought! "Oh my gosh. Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb. We can't do it by ourselves!"
Has that ever happened to you?
Have you had a desire to serve the LORD, and yet you were stopped short by a potential stone in your path?
Maybe a stone of depression, or uncertainty, perhaps a lack of confidence or a $0 bank account.
We then say, "well I can't possibly to this! I'm too old...I don't have the funding....I don't know how to....I'd just fall on my face!"
But Mark records something amazing that I have passed over so many times before. Something amazing! Something so significant that we just shouldn't miss it. When these women got close enough to see the tomb in the darkness, the stone had already been rolled away!
The obstacle before the service.
The huge stone barrier that couldn't have been budged by all of them together.
It had already been moved, clearing the path before them!
Where they had fretted about getting past the huge stone barrier now was a clear path of Light to serve Him! All done by the Savior - all accomplished without their help!
Friends, let's not miss this little nugget of hope that Scripture reveals to us. We can get so caught up in the stones in our path of service that we just don't leave room for Him to work.
Do yourself a favor. Go outside and find a stone. One small enough to carry in your pocket and place it where you read your Bible, where you pray, where you study and ponder with Jesus. Allow the stone to be a reminder of His work on the Cross and His work AFTER the cross. He will make a way for you. He will clear a path for you. He will see to it that you have a clear path to serve Him.
As for me, on Easter Sunday morning when everyone else is showing up at church in their new clothes and hats and shoes, I will quietly but proudly look down to see my stone. Remembering that if weren't for His work allowing me access to the Savior through rolling away the stones, I would not be able to serve Him, to worship Him, to know Him.
This Easter, as I worship and praise the God of Heaven and thank Him for the resurrection story, I am going to be thanking Him for the stone that was rolled away!
"But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away." Mark 16:4
More joy for your journey,
This is awesome Tracy. I'll be looking for my stone I the morning!
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