Mary Magdalene
“I have seen the Lord!” John 20:18
You are warmly welcome!
Many times a conclusion is drawn prematurely because our own wits have reached their limit. A notorious sinner thinks he is too far away to be saved, or a disabled person considers herself under-privileged in many aspects; sometimes even a wealthy family plunges deep into hopelessness when the head of the home dies, and similarly royals and allies of those in power scamper for asylum anywhere when their government is overthrown. Situations change around us and cause us to feel like it has been a meaningless race. Such may have been the status of Jesus’ followers at the time he was arrested, crucified and buried; they could have gone away in utter disappointment to count their losses and plan how to move forward after this botched hope.
There are two kinds of people who do not succumb easily: those who enter denial and refuse to accept the mishaps around them as true, and those who really have hope beyond the limitations of human efforts. When Jesus died, I cannot tell in which category Mary Magdalene was; with other women, Mary was the last to leave the cross and the first to visit the tomb. Denial or still some Hope? In John’s account, the empty tomb amazed everyone who came there and the apostles after being bewildered left and went back home, but Mary remained standing outside crying. This persistence paid off because soon she was in conversation with angels, and then with the risen Lord Jesus himself!
Mary became an early evangelist as she proclaimed to the apostles, “I have seen the Lord!” Her devotion was total from the time she started serving to the very end of her Master’s earthly life. Her history was not straight – she was cured from seven demons! In Jesus Christ there is hope beyond human comprehension; there is deliverance and restoration that goes beyond the limits of our wealth, creativity or wisdom. In whatever condition you find yourself, you are encouraged never to give up hope if you can only come to Jesus:
Come as you are, Don't change a thing
Open your heart, He'll walk right in
Come as you are, No excuses
His love for you, Will never die
God bless you all.