This past Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. He left his grave clothes behind and sought out his followers. When they first saw him they did not recognize him; after all, in their minds, Jesus was dead and had been buried. But as we know that is not the end of the story. By the power of God’s love for all humankind, God raised Jesus from the dead. The risen Christ was seen by a number of his associates and friends. We can only imagine their initial dismay at seeing him.
While we are centuries away from those events, there are those who still have doubts about whether this all took place. After all, a human body being raised from the dead is inconceivable! But when we realize that the power to raise Jesus from the dead comes from the presence of God, this idea becomes more believable. It its the power of God’s love that raised Jesus from the dead.
That same power surrounds you and I today. The power of God’s love will enable us to take on a task that we are not certain we can do. We may pray, we may ponder, and we may have doubts about our being able to take on that task but what we don’t take into account is the presence of the Risen Christ. As we feel a nudge and place our trust in him, we find ourselves taking on that task that we thought was beyond our abilities.
What I have noticed throughout my life is that God has not asked me to do something that God knows I cannot do. God does not set us up for failure. Yet, God does want us to stretch ourselves, to take on that task that is just little beyond our reach. With God’s help, we will have the ability to see that task done.