It still appeared dark and dreary to me. There’s hardly any stream of light I can see from my bed. I wanted to lay back some more minutes. Those were the days of my youth with frequent late night outings. The body gets tired, it needs more rest.
From my bed I can hear people singing at a distance, guitar strumming along with an upbeat sound of drums made from animal skin. So, get up and hurried myself towards the music and noise. The singing is enchanting as it was filled with praise from energetic young folks around the vicinity.
Rushing down through the dark, I reached the village graveyard, which made me realized I was late for the occasion. Before I joined the singing troupe, I sat stand in the corner observing who made there before. My grandfather who was a retired pastor of our church and some friends with young folks were already there.
Now the day was Easter Sunday, the day observed as the end of three days burial of Jesus Christ and his resurrection from the dead. In our village, we did visited the graveyard holding prayer meetings before dawn. It is one way of comforting the bereaved family and the spreading the hope of resurrection strengthening our faith.
When the prayer meeting was over, we headed towards the streets proclaiming the resurrection of Christ with joy as we sang hymns of the resurrection and victory Christ. It was the joy of living the countryside and the experience to cherish on and on.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 1 Cor. 15:52 When the dead will be raised the graves, once a place of separation and grief, will turn into a place of praise as the power of the Sovereign God will be revealed.
The Resurrection of Christ:
Resurrection is the foundation and evidence of Christian faith. Jesus himself told the disciples, the day of his glorification is near. Resurrection is not a normal phenomenon; none from the son of man and an inhabitant of the world would resurrection by their might.
Jesus body was physically broken, dehydrated, his bones broken. It is unfit in the thought of man that such person with an unusual death would rise again – just in three days. The unfathomable authority of the supreme God was in display when the disciples found out Jesus truly had risen. They visited the grave but he was no more! He had risen!
It was not only in spirit but in physical as well. He stood among them; they touched him. ”On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. John 20:19-20. Jesus also ate fish with them after his resurrection. (John 21:1-13)
Crying Outside the Tomb:
The place around the tomb was never a felicitous place to spent time with. Mary was crying as she stood by the tomb. She bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. John 20:11-18
At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there but thinking he was the gardener. “Rabonni! (which means Teacher) she cried out trying to hold her. Yet Jesus had resented as he hadn’t yet ascend to heaven to meet his father.
The crying outside the tomb was turned into gaiety. Happiness filled her heart, she rushed to the disciples when she told them, “I have seen the Lord!” One day our crying would turn into praising for the glory of the Lord when the grave will burst open as they could no longer hold the death at the sound of the trumpet of the Lord and his angels.
On that day, we’ll see things we have never seen. The eyes will be amazed at what it had seen. Everywhere on the earth, for the believers of the Risen King, be it the graveyard or at home, the atmosphere would be filled with praise for his glory. And every tongue will praise him!
What If?
We may still wanted to say, “What if?” for we are people filled with wisdom as we are possessing the gift of conscience. But for the people who faith in what the Bible says, it’s a matter unworthy of troubling ourselves. Let us see what the Apostle Paul had to say:
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. (1 Cor. 15:14) And he continued, If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (Verse 19) And with that I leave it to that on the ‘what ifs’.
In the end, a suffering soul is worth glorification, if they finished well in the end, either here on earth or in heaven. We might not see the result of withholding perseverance here on earth but it will be truly worth it. Suffering you say? It’ll be there no more!
One very big question I want you to consider here: When the dead, no longer in the tomb, sing praise for the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, will you be there?
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We may walked among the thorns
We may wear the thorns on our head
We may felt clinging to the rugged cross
Yet on resurrection day, we might feel less.
The way to the cross seems endless
Can’t see through the grave and beyond
Yet in yonder place would I praise?
Praising him of his glorious salvation.
Separation in the graveside wasn’t easy
My heart still aching every moment
With the slightest thought of them gone
Gone aren’t they, yet waiting for me.
The day I shed tears by the graveyard
I will never see them again, I say
Yet the Risen Jesus gave me hope
I will sing your praise forevermore.
