Easter unsevered earthly grief and heavenly joy.

Published: May 22, 2022, 10 a.m.

On Easter Sunday, the stone that had been rolled away revealed that Jesus’ tomb was empty. He had gotten out of his grave. And when he did, the blessings he had won got out with him. These blessings are now ours forever. The stone keeping his victory in can never be put back. This week we see how joy got out with him. Normally our level of joy changes when our circumstances change. Our joy, or lack thereof, is a product of what is going on in our life in the moment. In Jesus, however, joy is not a product of circumstance. Easter is more than a happy ending to an otherwise sad story. Instead, it turns the details of the story that were the saddest into sources of joy. In the same way, the struggles and sadnesses of this live will not just be replaced by joy in the life to come. They will actually contribute to it.