Hope Shines Through The Darkness

 

Everyone needs hope to live, no matter who you are or where you live. Easter is the time of year that reminds each of us that there is hope. Maybe your hope has dimmed, and the light is barely shining. Many of you are burdened with troubles and find yourselves in the midst of a personal crisis, but so were the first Christians on that very first Resurrection Sunday morning. Just as those first believers found life to be a dead-end street with no future, you too may feel the same. They came to realize that Jesus really did die, but he also really did rise from the dead. For you this morning, it may feel like there is a three-ton boulder blocking your path, but on the first Easter, they found the stone already rolled away. The angel of the Lord had come and moved the stone, not for Jesus, but for those who needed to verify that Jesus was risen. Maybe it feels like all hope is gone for you. It is hard for you to find motivation, even to do the most basic things. Your joy is gone. You are not alone. It was this way for the followers of Christ after Jesus died on the cross. With Jesus’ death came the death of all their hopes and dreams.

The women who went to the tomb early on Sunday Morning did not go thinking they would find an empty tomb, but rather a dead body. However, the resurrection of Jesus changed everything. I invite you to take a look at the empty tomb, and you, too, will find that He is risen. Easter means Jesus is risen from the dead, and death could not hold him. That ugly monster of death, which has intimidated every person who has ever lived, has met its match. The prophets said that Jesus’ body would never see decay, and they were right: three days later, he arose from the dead. Easter means Jesus is alive. It means he is present with us. He is here! However, this is not just an announcement; it is a day to respond to God’s invitation to receive life. It is a day to embrace God with all your heart. I encourage you today to open your heart and allow God to speak to you. Jesus died for you, and he will transform your life if you let him. Because Jesus is alive, you can have hope for this life and the next.