Easter's Eve

            They were in mourning. Not just for the man they loved and followed, but for all they’d given up, all the hopes and dreams they’d fostered, all the aspirations and beliefs that had changed their lives. They didn't  just lose a person, they lost their purpose. They didn't just bury their friend, they buried their future. Nothing would be the same now that Jesus was dead. 

            Most of us can’t fathom the depths of sorrow the disciples and Jesus’ loved ones experienced when Jesus died on that cross. They failed to understand how bright their future would be, precisely because of his death. They didn’t grasp the gift of grace Christ had so painfully purchased for their salvation. They had no inkling of what the morrow would bring.

            It can be heartbreaking when our own dreams are crushed and our hopes lay in tatters. We may even reach a point when we believe everything is lost. Why go on when the future appears so bleak? What motivation remains to lure us out of bed each morning? Why bother at all when the sky is so dark and tomorrow seems so dismal?

            What the disciples didn’t know, what Mary and the other women failed to understand, was that tomorrow their world, their very lives, would be altered beyond belief. Death would be conquered, eternal life would be theirs and what appeared to be the end would actually be a glorious beginning.

            Are you stuck on Easter’s Eve? Trapped between the grave and the resurrection? Do you feel like this darkness will last forever and all hope is gone? The story is not over yet. God is at work. Hold on to the hope we have in Christ.

Easter morning is just one night away.