The Overlooked Easter Story

Circumstances from the past several months have caused me to have some insight on the Easter holiday and the importance of a part of the passage concerning Easter that is often overlooked.
I was prompted to write this by what a friend had said to me and also from what God said to me. Thus, I will express my interpretation. I will say that God really pays attention to detail and as a Chemist, I understand the impact that details have upon the smallest of things.
For the record I know I am not a person of the “cloth” and that I am not one who writes sermons as a pastor would do, I just submit my thoughts on this one verse, and trust that you too will find delight in it as I did.
Easter is this weekend and most of us know the story about the resurrection of Jesus Christ on that day. But did you ever think of the importance of the following verse:
John 20:1 (New International Version)
The Empty Tomb
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

I have to say that it may look like a simple verse of what was seen, but to me it is more than that. I have a tomb that I have enclosed things in my life that I need to set free. Some issues with my way of thinking that is different from most people, the difficulty I have trusting people, my reluctance to allow myself to get involved in romantic relationships, pain from lost friends and family, my health and the various occurrences I deal with regarding that, and yes how much I truly miss my mommy. But I look at this verse and Jesus was trapped in a tomb as well.

I suppose it is alright to be trapped in that tomb that some of us are trapped in. You can label the stone of that tomb JESUS because that is where he was. You can label tomb a ALCOHOLISM because some folks are dealing with that. Some people have had issues stemming from HORRIBLE CHILDHOOD, dealing and coping with those who have lost someone they love in a violent or even in a way that took their life in a shocking fashion. Label that tomb LOSS. I have a tomb that has stone labeled DIABETES. I have a tomb that has a stone label TRUST. Others have tombs that have stones labeled, FAILING MARRIAGE, NOT ENOUGH MONEY FOR BILLS, PARENTING PROBLEMS, HOMELESSNESS, GETTING THROUGH SCHOOL, RELATIONSHIPS, FINDING A JOB, CANCER, PREGNANCY, HUNGER, DRUGS… and the list can go on and on. But it says in the aforementioned verse that the stone had been removed. And when it was removed Jesus was set free and we know the rest of that story.

I know that I have some stones that have enclosed and shut in some issues in my life that I know I can't deal with by myself, Lord knows I have tried, but I know for a fact that the God that sits high and looks down low, the God the gives us tests that He knows we can pass and that has been good to us, has rolled stones away. I know that some of the stones I have may have put a strain on me and my actions…how I speak and how I live. Some are really hard to overcome, but the fact of the matter is that God is still rolling stones away to allow you and I to let it go and be free.

I can envision and hear the sounds of stones being rolled away from our own personal tombs with various labels allowing freedom and joy to overwhelm us. I know I have asked God to roll my stones away, and they have been slowly moving away to allow myself to regain the appetite that I have for life that grows each day.

Tears of joy and jubilation…and that dance that accompanies it (like they are David) will come when my friends and others that I know that are going through it finally get those large boulders away from their personal tombs. Take it from me that life can only get sweeter and sweeter when those labeled and unlabeled stones that plague your life are gone.

I would never want to have a life in which God did not roll that stone away that was labeled JESUS. God did it for His son; imagine what He will do for us! I thank God in advance for rolling my stones away!

I Love You, But God Love's You More!