Believing that God will ultimately triumph over the grave is one thing; knowing what to do with yourself in the meantime is another. Ruth 3 presses that question through people who have lost everything and choose to prepare rather than wait it out—and what their ordinary faithfulness looks like, in the daily grind before the story resolves, may be more unsettling and more freeing than expected.
The disciples at first saw an empty grave, but not a Risen King. We can find ourselves doing the same.
We’ve all looked at this world and thought, it just doesn’t seem like God’s will is being done. Underneath that thought is a deeper fear that God’s reserve of will and ability runs dry the way ours does. That fear is exactly what Jesus targets when He teaches us to pray “your will be done.”
You open what looks like a personal Christmas card and it’s just a pitch for insurance. There’s always the something being snuck by us, isn’t there? Jesus faced that same suspicion — how can we know He is really who He says He is?
Deep down, even people who come to God carry a fear that He will eventually give up on them — that sooner or later they’ll be shown the door. That fear is exactly what Jesus meets head-on in John 6.
On Easter, we celebrate God’s great reversal, yet many of us still carry wildernesses where things feel anything but right. Mary Magdalene was in such a wilderness in John 20 as she wept outside of the tomb. In the wilderness, we often cannot see when Jesus is right in front of us.
We live in a lost and wounded world, but what does that mean for us? As Christians, we should be known for our love. It’s time to shift our faith from an inward faith to an outward faith.
Do you believe the end is near? We are told to be prepared and to be patient. But in that patience, we also need to be urgent! Because the end is coming.
When Jesus comes again, what kind of body will rise up? God created all of heaven and earth, and He saw that it was good. That includes us! Even after sin and death entered the world, God made plans to transform us so we could reconcile with Him.
Jesus’ resurrection has massive implications for humanity. We have hope for today, tomorrow, and forever through his resurrection. All who have died in Christ will rise in Christ at his return.