Finally the other disciple (John), who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. John 20:8
It’s said that ‘seeing is believing’. The inexplicable must be seen for what others say can’t be trusted. We need tangible proof. Yet here Peter and John reach the tomb and believe on the basis of what they can’t see, Jesus’ body. There is the evidence of the carefully folded shroud, but it required faith to accept Jesus is risen.
What’s true for the disciples is true for us. I was first drawn to Jesus as someone described Jesus. Yet, only when I chose to commit my life to the truth I hoped might prove genuine did I discover Christ is real. I came to encounter God daily in my life experiences.
I still lose sight of God and struggle to entrust my total welfare to God. Yet, in my struggle to trust I cannot escape the experience that I’ve encountered and know God personally. Initially it was tough. My family thought I was passing through a ‘religious phase’. Many friends disagreed with me, some ending our friendship because ‘I’d got religion’.
The mystery remains for Jesus had now transcended the physical to become both the physical and the intangible. This is why faith is so challenging both to grasp and to practice. For now, the incarnate Jesus can only be found with eyes of faith. With His resurrection, God’s redemptive plan locks into place. In a moment these two disciples saw the coming together of all of human history and the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. As such we, the Church, are invited to live in our physical world but always with a sense of the spiritual, the now yet unseen, presence of God. The tomb’s forever empty, yet Christ is forever present with us.
Something to Consider: Today, follow the disciples into the empty tomb and reflect upon the reality of God when you can find no tangible evidence for such a reality.
An Action to Take: In the reality of everyday living, with its hustle and bustle, seek Christ’s presence with the eyes of faith.
A Prayer to Make: ‘Lord, thank You that You are risen from the dead and so present in all of life and available to me wherever I am and whatever I face.’
www.LumoProject.com / LUMO Photo taken from www.freebibleimages.org
