Gracie Girl Blog

Blog post sponsored by: Chocolate eggs, coffee, and carrot cake cupcakes 

Here are some things I have been thinking about this Lent and Easter season. 🙂

Why do you look for the living among the dead? (Luke 24:5) 

This question was asked to the women who came to the tomb on the morning of the third day after Jesus’ crucifixion. They wanted to put spices on Jesus’ body, to honor their dead friend, but God had a different, greater plan. God’s plan was life.

The women had a choice; whether to believe the angels and go tell everyone the good news OR  doubt the angels and continue to search for Jesus in the tomb or accuse others of stealing his body.

How often do we choose to look for the living among the dead? How often to we linger at the grave when there is nothing good for us there?

In other words, How often do we look for joy, peace, and fulfillment in empty, worldly places? Why do we continue to search for life where there is no life to be found? 

Most people are not searching for Jesus. Maybe the Gospel sounds too far-fetched, maybe the Bible is too old of a book to provide real insight, maybe you think the state of the world is a sort of reflection of the state of God’s heart. I can understand the skepticism.

Instead, we search for joy in the places we think we know we’ll find it. In friends, in constantly being busy, in social events, in work,  in alcohol, in acceptance, in the amount of likes we get–the list is endless.

This is the equivalent of going to the grave and refusing to believe Jesus is not there, and choosing to go on with the mourning process. Temporarily, there will be some peace in moments of remembrance, some joy in gathering with friends, a sense of accomplishment for keeping the memory of Jesus with you. But there will always be grief and questioning what life would look like if you had believed the angels.

So… what if we believe the angels?

He is not here; he is risen! (Luke 24:6) 

He is not in the grave, he is not on the cross, He is risen. 

We do not need to spend any more time lingering by the tomb. Lingering on social media to feel validated, lingering at parties to feel accepted, lingering in the places (physical, emotional, spiritual) death, fear, shame, and insecurity reside. The tomb does not hold what your soul is thirsty for.

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

The beautiful thing about Jesus is that he not only went to the grave in our place, but wants us to live in that freedom everyday. There is fullness of joy in Jesus, fullness of peace, fullness of love, fullness of acceptance.

Jesus wants us to have relationships, social lives, jobs, fun, etc. He also walked this earth and knows how messy those things can be. He wants our hope to lie in him so when the pleasures of this earth fall through, we have something to hold on to.

God is the Father who cares. Jesus is the brother who cares. There is no obstacle standing between you and God that He has not already conquered.

Oh the overwhelming,

never-ending

reckless love God.

Oh it chases me down,

fights till I’m found,

leaves the ninety-nine.

I couldn’t earn it.

I don’t deserve it.

Still you gave your life away.

Reckless Love-Cory Asbury 

Above is a song that has swiftly swept into the churches and hearts of people all over the nation. This song captures the Father’s heart. The heart of a Father who would give his son over to death, just to be close to his people. A love so strong it fights off anything and everything to protect and care for us.

This spring, I’m rejoicing in the truth of God’s reckless love for me, for you, for a broken humanity. The state of the world is quite the opposite of a reflection of God’s heart.

There is nothing for you in the grave, you need not linger there any longer. 

*“leave the ninety-nine” is referring to a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to search out one lost sheep. We are that one sheep.