Slideshow image

Here we are, the day after Easter, when Christians celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the dead and the new life that we have in Him. But what do we do when life is still hard; when everything didn’t “come up roses?” I’m sure you could tabulate your own list, but this is only a glimpse of what people shared with me this past week:

  • Battling chronic disease and received another new diagnosis
  • Still hurting in their marriage relationship
  • Estranged from their children and grandchildren
  • The love of their life just died
  • Struggling with anxiety, fear, and depression
  • Needing affordable housing/don’t have enough money to get by or food to feed their families
  • Growing older and bodies not doing what they want them to
  • Family members don’t know what they’re going to do after High School or College, or at age 30, 40, 50, 60 …
  • Facing the hurt caused by church people — in the Name of Jesus
  • Continued horror in Ukraine and in many other countries, where the news stories seem like “old news” to some

Many of us, like Mary Magdalene, are carrying the wounds and scars of the past- things that we have done or things that have been done to us and may be asking, “So, what now?”

Let’s consider what “new life” might look like for us when our circumstances haven’t changed.

New life in Christ is full of hope- in the already and not yet. Being Easter People means moving forward with faith and trust, even in the not knowing…even when the reality of life/our circumstances hasn’t changed. Being Easter people means embracing the mystery of our faith- Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.

A new life in Christ helps us to embrace God’s promise to all of us through the prophet Isaiah:
Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.… Behold, I am doing a new thing, now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert…to give drink to my people. (From Isaiah 42-44)

Oh, my friends, are you willing to see it? God wants to make all things new, through Jesus Christ our Lord. That doesn’t mean that everything will magically be “rainbows and unicorns,” but it does mean that we are not alone as we experience challenges in the wildernesses and dry desert seasons of our lives.