Click here to read Matthew 28:1-10.
Jordan Monge found herself climbing through a thicket, trying to get to the ocean she knew was below. Through the bramble and through the mud, she couldn’t quit. She had to keep going. This was no ordinary journey; it was a metaphor of what her life had been over the past months.
Jordan had been a fervent atheist for as long as she could remember. At four-years-old, she asked another child at a birthday party how he knew the Bible was true. In grade school, she would take a Bible to school with sticky notes hanging out, marking all the alleged contradictions. She would shove it in front of one of her Christian friends and say, “Here! Explain this to me.” She still had a few lingering questions, but figured a good college would help her find the answers. She got into Harvard. However, instead of galvanizing her atheistic beliefs, she met another student, a Christian, who was willing to give her intelligent answers to her challenges.
This began a journey that included devouring the writings of major religions and books by respected atheists. Over time, she came to the realization that the Bible was true. Yet, although her head was convinced, her heart had not followed. Now, she was journeying through a thicket. She knew not where she would end up – maybe it would be back where she started – she only knew that wherever the journey took her she needed to keep going, she needed to know the truth.
On that first Easter, two women were making a similar journey. They had come to look at the tomb where their beloved teacher and friend had been laid to rest. He had been suddenly torn from them and executed before their eyes. I imagine they were trying to make sense of all of this, when they were astounded by what they found. The earth had shaken, a huge stone had unexplainably been moved, a once occupied tomb was empty, and a dazzling angel told them Jesus had been risen from the dead. They made their journey through the thicket of emotions, “with great joy and fear.” On their way to tell the disciples, they met Jesus on the way. ()
Jordan Monge met Jesus on her journey; she was baptized nine Easter Sundays ago. The resurrection has been changing peoples’ lives for over two thousand years. If you look below the surface, it is not unreasonable or irrational to believe. Will you dare to make the journey?
Looking for more?