Things Will Never Be the Same Again

Through the curtain of mist which hung before sunrise on the western hills of Galilee a shiver of joy ran through the brotherhood of Jesus’ beloved ones. From the water’s rim they heard the sound of His voice skim the surface and a glow of fire piloted them toward shore.

The turbulent, glorious days of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection were accomplished. Now the disciples were back home working. And into that waxen hour Jesus came. When men were stripped down for work Jesus revealed Himself into the life setting of a workday morning. Things would never be the same again.

At an unexpected moment the Lord appeared to them as if to say; it doesn't matter the day, the hour, the place, or occasion, Easter isn't over! From now through eternity itself, at your every morning, at every meal, inside every activity it will never be the same again for you.

The dynamic of Easter is not a pause in the day's occupations but propulsion into new life!

Because of the events of Easter, the bodily resurrection and victory of Jesus Christ over death, we are literally propelled from our own unprofitable darkness into the whole-hearted, life-long, chock-full, over-flowing joy of Easter brimming, like nets bursting with fish, in the never-ending color, aroma, and relish of life. The grace of Easter is ours forever.

Via Easter we may now get on with real living!

"Get on with your life" is another way of saying, "Leave your troubles behind and enjoy the carefree privilege and zest of having been re-born which not only sounds mighty wonderful Easter morning but is also directly intended for the gray chilled twilight when a man comes off the night shift.

When we encounter times of personal reversals, when life seems like a string of inevitable disappointments, when God sometimes seems to have failed to vest us with a bit of the divine energy that brought Jesus from the grave, we are reminded Easter isn't over—death is!

Things will never be the same again! For any of us!

Isaiah wrote, "On this mountain (that is Calvary) he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that enfolds all nations."

Because of Jesus’ resurrection, things will never be the same for you and me. Death is over, and with its destruction go all it's accessories: the distress of the women, the perplexity of the disciples, the fear of the upper room, the doubt, the weeping, the grief, all past failures and misdirected thoughts.

It's like when a sickness is taken away, and with it go the pills, lozenges and plasters, the elixirs, therapy, and tonics, as well as the pain, the bacteria, the weakness, the depression, the infection, and everything else associated with it. "The last enemy to be destroyed is death," Paul wrote to the Corinthians.

Easter is the new day. Live in confidence, in power, and in grace. Just hearing John say from the boat, "It is the Lord" is the greatest single antidote for discouragement. Our Lord Jesus makes all the difference in the world! We are not just celebrating His resurrection, but also our own!