Hope Behind a Rock

Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance. Mark 15:46

Boom! Finished. The End. A giant boulder sealing a tomb symbolized the finality of death. To the Roman executioners, it meant that no zealous disciple could tamper with the body. To Jesus’ watching friends and family, it meant the end of a beautiful dream. The end of hope. Staring at that stone, they had no choice but to accept that their Master, Teacher, and Friend was gone. They had waited and prayed, silently pleading that He might come off the cross, call down some angels, or vindicate Himself. But He hadn’t, and now it was too late. The future He had inspired them to pursue was shattered. Hope had been defeated and now lay dead, hidden behind a gigantic rock.

Have you heard the clunk of a giant boulder sealing off your hope? You thought you understood your life, where it was going, what God was doing, and then boom! You get a diagnosis. Divorce papers are filed. You flunk out of school or don’t get accepted in the first place. It feels so final. You see no way out, no future. The empty tomb is a reminder that God’s way does not include dead ends, only turns. When our faith is in Him, no boulder is big enough to keep us from His plan.

Boulders that appear to seal off hope
 are merely pebbles to God  

(Isaiah 46:9-11).

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