The stone was rolled away...

'It was a miserable, bleak day. The man who we had loved and followed was dead! Accused of blasphemy they killed him! Every parable He told, sickness He healed, and miracle shown declared of His love for us...and they killed Him. So as we made the grief-stricken journey to where He was buried, we prepared our hearts to anoint His body. Suddenly the question was asked, "Who will roll the stone away?" With all the emotion that clouded our hearts and minds, we hadn't considered this. He had been buried in a tomb, blocked by a huge stone. How would we reach him? How could a few women roll the stone away? As we approached the tomb, we saw that someone had gone ahead of us...as the stone had been rolled away...'

I've written this imagining the thoughts of the women making their way to anoint Jesus' body as outlined in Mark 16. They make the journey contemplating how to reach Jesus as a huge stone blocks the tomb. Not long after, they find that the stone had already been rolled away!

As I began to read Mark 16 my mind raced over the words of the text...I've read this before...is there anything new? But then my eyes caught the question 'Who will roll the stone away?' and my heart paused the race of my mind as those words echoed throughout my soul. It resonated within me, not because I had been asking that question, but because I had been asking God similar questions, and had possibly been losing hope with certain things. 'How will I do this...?' 'How is this going to happen...' 'What happens if...' Enjoying my journey of life, I suddenly became preoccupied by huge stones! So I could relate to this question.

Approaching the tomb, they found the stone had already been rolled away. How many times have we been anxious about things, only to find that God has gone before us and made a way for us. What happens in Mark 16 not only points to everyday situations that God has gone before us to remove obstacles and so we should trust in Him, but it also reminds us that Christ died and rose again to make a way for us. Romans 5:8 reads that 'But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' Sinking and drowning in my sin, God goes ahead of me and makes a way for me to enter into His Kingdom.