We might be tempted to think that there wasn’t too big a shift in the atmosphere and that life went on pretty much as normal for the ordinary citizens who lived at the time of the resurrection of Christ. But what if it didn’t? What if nothing ever felt quite the same afterwards?
Such a cataclysmic event was earth and world shattering in its effects. The news about it spread over the whole known world. The story of the resurrection got shared year after year, retold with wonder, speculation and awe to future generations. And it still is.
Because God’s evident, sacrificial love for us and the hope it brings to human hearts has spread faster than any virus can, multiplying exponentially nation to nation.
It affects everyday people from every stratum in society, turning humdrum lives upside down in the process. The message the resurrection imparts brings us deep rest when all else is unsettled and shaken, including our emotions.
So let’s consider how one ordinary person, just like you and me, might have reacted to the resurrection, to this shift in their expectations and experience, followed by an adjustment to a new normality.
“At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.” ― Matthew 27:51-53 NLT
A shift
There’s a shift
where identity used to sit
like an old cardigan,
well-worn, moth-eaten
but familiar
because it became part
of me, what I always wore.
Now I don’t know what fits
me anymore
or suits the woman
I have become
since the earth shook, since Sunday
and a man took
on death to set us free.
Tombs broke open
and people were raised
to life again
like they had never died,
restored to their
loved ones, their families
as if they’d
never left them bereft.
And it is whispered
that this world
is just a stepping stone
to somewhere
better, a place of beauty
where we can sit
and think and dream and breathe
and bask in who we are,
who we were created to be.
© joylenton
God Himself changes not. He is totally dependable and faithful to His Word. His promises can be relied upon. God doesn’t shift like the wind, alter with circumstance or sway from continually pouring out His love, mercy and grace for us.
“‘Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” ― Isaiah 54:10 NIV
Whatever fears or uncertainties might be shaking your world right now, my friend, remember the unshakeable power of God to rescue and save us. He is the still, calm centre of every storm we encounter, and our souls’ peace, always. In the valley of the shadows, God is with us and fighting for us as the core strength of our hurting hearts.
Poetry Joy 