Simply Marvelous

For a preacher's daughter turned preacher's wife in the south, the Resurrection of Jesus is not new news to me. 

As a matter of fact, it is the sole reason I can take a breath to the deep part of my lungs.    

But even though I intentionally keep the knowledge of that truth before me...I found myself frozen over one word as I read about the familiar scene of the Resurrection in Luke 24:12:

“But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.”

Marvel.

In the original Greek, this verb carries the meaning to properly wonder at, be amazed, astonished out of one's senses, awestruck. It's root word- a noun- means that the "marvel" is something that powerfully strikes the viewer personally and evokes an emotional astonishment. 

Peter saw the stone rolled away, the grave cloths folded, the tomb empty. 

And he left marveling: amazed, awestruck, personally and emotionally impacted by what he had seen. 

And it positioned him for a step of faith. 

Have I stopped truly marveling at the resurrection? 

Have I stopped allowing the power and awesomeness of what Jesus did for me impact me deeply, personally? 

Are we living so guarded that the power of the Resurrection no longer leaves us astonished and undone? 

Or maybe that is what we are holding at bay: the possibility, the idea, the fear of some area we have in lock down becoming undone. 

And so we meander by the empty tomb every now and then...never really looking in...comfortable and content with the concept of Jesus and His resurrection- but nothing more.

When we marvel and find ourselves emotionally impacted and amazed out of our senses, we can at the same moment find ourselves positioned for a step of faith. 

A step of faith that requires us to stop believing that whatever we are stuck in is all there is. 

A step of faith that asks us to trade death for life in every area- even that deepest, darkest place. 

Why?
Because Jesus went to the deepest, darkest place and won the victory in your stead and in mine. 

Peter's marveling positioned him for a step of transforming faith that turned him from ashamed denier to powerful declarer. 

God doesn't need us to marvel to stroke his ego.
He wants us to marvel to fuel our faith. 

He longs for us to move past the idle thought of the resurrection and move forward in the POWER of the resurrection! 

We have to let it impact us personally, deeply, emotionally, individually. 

Why?
Because it will position us to be transformed from ashamed deniers to powerful declarers.

Run to the tomb. 

Stoop and look inside.

See that Jesus is.not.there. 

Move past the mention of the resurrection...and MARVEL at the magnitude of what the resurrection means for every piece and every part of who you are. 

That is where the life change happens. 

That is when the chains fall. 

That is when the walls crumble. 

That is when grace wins: when we refuse to be blinded by our mediocre meanderings and choose to MARVEL at the finished work of Jesus Christ. 

Marvel at the resurrection. 

Then, step out in a faith full of wonder and power like never before. 

#SimpleTruth for a marvelous life. 

And my soul shall ever be. 

"How marvelous! How wonderful! 

And my soul shall ever be. 

How marvelous! How wonderful!

Is my Savior's love for me." 

 -hymn, "I Stand Amazed" 

The Day In-Between

The time in between is the hardest. Death has had it's day. 

Darkness has seemingly overcome. 

And so we wait. 

We wait for the pin prick of dawn's light to pierce the overwhelming black that has tried to consume our hope.

We wait for joy to jump over our sadness.

We wait for life to bloom where death feels so firmly planted. 

This day that doesn't have a name because we can't- and they couldn't-see with their eyes what God was doing, the power He has already released for the victory. 

So we trudge through the in-between.

We wonder where God is, as if He's showing up late. 

Didn't Mary and Martha think the same thing? 

But Lazarus walked out of that grave. 

The victory came.

And another Mary walked early that third morning to try to cover up the stench of death that filled the nostrils of her spirit and mind- expecting to still find death where she had prayed for life.

They had forgotten hope.

They had welcomed despair and ushered hope right out of the waiting room. 

Because the in-between convinces you it is a destination, when in reality, it is only a path. 

Morning will come. 

And when it does, darkness has no say...it MUST flee. 

There is no competition. 

Light. Always. Wins.

And in that moment, the in-between is outed as the the bridge from here to there, the steps on the journey, a room to pass through- a place to be thankful for but never where you set up camp. 

You keep moving forward. 

And morning WILL come.

Wise. Strong. Courageous. Revealing. Empowering. 

Merciful.

...is the morning.

Because ***spoiler alert ***

He Lives.