“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (LUKE 24: 5)
Today Paxton and I did a puzzle together. I realized I was getting so frustrated because I wasn’t very good at it. The puzzle wasn’t making sense. Until I realized that I was doing the puzzle upside down. YES. I had started at the bottom and it was really the top. As I turned it around, it revealed a clear picture of a bus. All of a sudden, everything made sense.
I read this verse recently, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (v. 5)
Jesus had risen, and yet an angel posed this question to the women who had come looking for him after he died on the cross. Why are you searching for life in something that is dead?
Don’t we so often do this? We think holiday shopping, Christmas cookies, and well-behaved children that participate in these activities will bring us JOY. Don’t be surprised when these things disappoint.
So often I get stuck on the problems of life instead of the solution (Jesus). The small details of the puzzle instead of the big picture.
It is easy to get caught up in the holidays. The presents, the stress, traditions, food, and making it picturesque.
Mary could’ve got stuck wondering why a Savior would be born in a manger, or why a Savior would choose such humble beginnings. We can get hung up on parts of our stories that don’t make sense to us. Sometimes it isn’t until we turn the puzzle upside down that we see the true meaning behind it all. Eternity with him reorients our life here on earth.
When we focus hard on the business and activities of life, our reputation as a good parent, etc. we are searching for life among what doesn’t give life and looking at the puzzle upside down. Instead, let’s focus on the birth of Jesus. The meaning for the season and turn the puzzle the right way and reflect on who gives us true life- hope for the lost and weary. Why are we looking for life among the dead? When Life Himself came to earth as a baby to be Immanuel.
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