Early in the morning they [Mary and the other women] came to the tomb . . . But Peter arose and ran to the tomb.
Luke 24:1, 12
A pastor walks into his office early Monday morning after an exciting and celebratory Sunday service. As he walks through the entrance, he notices it is unusually quiet. He asks the secretary where everyone is. To his amazement, the associate pastor and most of the staff have gone to start a church just down the road. She tells him that plans were made weeks earlier in secret meetings and that half of the congregation went also. Devastated and hurting, he soon moves into depression. Days turn into weeks and weeks into months, and nothing and no one can console him.
One night, his wife wakes up in the middle of the night, and he is gone. In her worry, she begins to pray and calls others to do the same. Hours later, the middle of the night has turned into mid-morning. The front door opens, and in walks the pastor, smiling, singing, and rejoicing. He grabs his wife, hugs and kisses her, and exclaims, “The Lord is good!”
“What happened to you?” she asks. He sits down with a cup of coffee and recounts his story.
“I woke up late last night in the same emotional, mental, and spiritual state I have been in for months. Then suddenly, I had an idea that so captivated me that I had to do it right then. Honey, do you remember the house we were renting when I was saved and the Lord delivered me from alcoholism? Well, I drove to that town, to that house. I knocked on the door and told the lady I used to live there, and that I needed to go into the backyard. Oddly enough, she gave me permission. So I went to the same spot I had stood 27 years ago when I heard God call me to be a pastor. As I stood there, I looked up to heaven and asked, “Okay, what did You say again?” And He said, “I called you and that has not changed. You are mine.” So honey, I am His. He has called me, and it does matter who stays or leaves. I know He is with me.”
This may be very simple, but when Mary and the others were confused and did not know what to do, they went to the last place they saw Jesus. When Peter heard something he could not believe, he went to the place where he heard others had encountered Jesus. The idea that “if God wants me, He knows where to find me” is an idea birthed out of complacency. The wise men traveled, the woman went, and Peter ran to where they heard Jesus would be. If you do not know what to do, go to the last place you saw Him. Go back and continue to do the last thing Jesus said to do. You might have to go in your imagination, but go. Relive the moment, and honor Jesus in that moment.
If you have never encountered Him, go to a place where you know others are encountering Him, and have an open mind. You never know where the Resurrected Jesus will reveal Himself. We do not have to be passive. Remember, grace is not opposed to effort; it’s opposed to earning. Effort is action. Earning is attitude.