Good News About the Resurrection
The phone rang in the middle of the night and jolted me awake. My husband, Gene, answered, and I soon realized he was receiving devastating news: Our son had been picked up by the police and accused of a serious crime. I couldn't breathe; nausea swept over me. As I tried to stand next to the bed, my knees buckled.
Surely it's a mistake, I thought desperately. But as the hours unfolded, the circumstances surrounding our son's arrest were validated.
That day was more than two years ago. My son's still incarcerated, awaiting a trial that's been postponed repeatedly. My life's changed dramatically during this extended wait. I've watched my dreams for my only child shatter. I've agonized over what I could have done differently as a mother to ensure such a thing would not have happened. Sometimes I feel as though I'm living through an endless Good Friday.
When Jesus died on the cross that Good Friday two thousand years ago, hope (for a moment) was ripped away. Everyone believed he would be the One to redeem Israel from Roman oppression. Then his body was laid in a tomb.
But Easter Sunday arrived. When Mary Magdalene and Mary, Martha's sister, visited Jesus' grave early that morning, they discovered that God's angel had rolled back the stone to reveal a now-empty tomb. The angel told them, "I know you're looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said.… Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, 'He is risen from the dead'" (Matthew 28:6-7, MSG). Because of Christ's resurrection, we now have hope that our faith is true, that God can be trusted, and that we, too, will be resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:13-19).
If I thought for a moment there was no eternity, no heaven, no end to sorrow, no eventual resolution to my personal crisis, I'd want to "check out" right now. But the good news of the Resurrection is the promise that we who believe in Jesus as our Savior will enjoy eternal life (Matthew 25:46) in a place free from sorrow, suffering, or tears (Revelation 21:4).
Incredibly, in the middle of my Good Friday experience, other reasons for hope have emerged. Throughout my family's ordeal, I've learned some lessons that have shown me the same power that brought Jesus Christ back to life is available to us.
Authentic Joy
I didn't expect this first discovery. In the nights immediately following my son's arrest, depression overtook me like a relentless dark cloud. I wanted to retreat into my grief and sleep away the pain. Yet every day when I awakened, the sun came up—and with it, a surprising sense of renewed hope. How dark Good Friday must have seemed to those who loved Jesus! Yet I'm convinced that when the sun rose that Easter morning to reveal the empty tomb, hope replaced darkness and sadness. For no matter how dark the night, Christ's resurrection reminds us that joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).
Originally published in: Today's Christian Woman, 2002, March/April, Vol. 24, Issue 2, Page 56
Related Topics:
Depression, Easter, Eternal life, Fear, God, faithfulness of, Good Friday, Grief, Joy, Overcoming, Resurrection
More from Carol Kent:
Kyria.com | Books
Join the Kyria.com Community!
Become a member to have access to the following:
- Full access to hundreds of other articles for thoughtful, influential women
- The monthly Kyria digizine, each issue focusing on a spiritual discipline or theme
- 20 percent discount on all of the downloadable resources in the Kyria Store
downloadable guides
Prayer and Meditation
Cultivating a deeper relationship with God.
Ministering to Working Women
How your women's ministry can better meet the needs of women who work outside the home.Browse More Guides
back to top
Average User Rating:
Tracy Pace
we are the resurrection- I pray your son's experience will turn his life around and become his opportunity to grow and serve. When Jesus died for us he was showing us that what we fear, which motivates us so much, is not to be feared. We are, to use a metaphor 'in the palm of G_d's hand'. Often the worst things which happen become the spring for a new life...but it's often a long time before we see that's what happened or understand why there is pain and difficulty. 2 Cor 6 says: in all approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned...as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and possessing all things.' Pray and encourage your son to accept responsibility and be example to others. Don't blame yourself.
Rate & Comment on this article