MONDAY MEDITATION: Life Starts in the Grave (November 8)

So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! – 2 Corinthians 5:17

During a worship team meeting, we were brainstorming about a theme for Easter. Someone suggested butterflies. My inner arrogance kicked in, and I thought to myself, “Great. So much for originality.” It’s a pretty overused symbol, I thought.

But as we reflected more on it, a new realization dawned:

It’s not that the cocoon broke open and you suddenly became a butterfly. No, you became a butterfly first, while you were still in the cocoon.

In other words, new life can start when you’re still surrounded by the darkness, and seeming hopelessness, of the grave.

Isn’t that your experience?

In the grave you lose your defenses. You admit your weakness. You repent of things you feel sorry about. You appreciate people and things you’d taken for granted. You ask for one more chance to live. You promise you’ll live more fully and completely if just that stone can be rolled away.

The times I’ve been stuck in my grave have been the most miserable times of my life. Anxiety, depression, fear…all those things you try to avoid are your companions in the dark.

The difference for Christians is that we believe since Jesus has been there, he knows where to sit. He doesn’t leave us alone in our weakness and pain. And slowly we discover a nudging of the stone. At the right time light will shine into that which was dark.

Like the butterfly, we will have the strength to emerge.

How we’ll live in the light will have been shaped by the strength we slowly received in the darkness.

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