The world thrives in tombs. It thrives in the dark places. John writes that man loves darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. The worldly systems convulse at the sign of truth. She hides from truth, and when she confronts it, it offers more lies.
Ultimately, the world, the flesh, and the devil delight in emptiness. The Devil would rather have a world without form and where darkness is in the face of the deep. The devil does not want a creator God because he displays just how uncreative the devil is.
The world thrives in tombs, thrives in evil deeds, attracts unseemliness, and finds refuge in scoundrels who guard the tombs of prophets, priests, and kings. They do their job without ever confronting their masters. They are puppets of the empire.
But while the world thrives in tombs, the Church thrives in empty tombs. We do not delight in death, which is why our religion bursts forth from death; our faith triumphs over tombs whether there are 2-3 or 10,000 soldiers guarding its gates. The Christian Bible proclaims a Lord who sees death and tombs as symbols of defeat and who laughs at them.
O, Death, where is thy sting?
It is there in the tomb—that’s what remains on Easter morning. Jesus left death in the tomb, paralyzed and incapable of chasing after him. Death couldn’t escape. Death was stung by its own sting. Death is what remains in the tomb, but Christ has risen from the dead.
The world thrives in tombs, and Christians specialize in departing from them. We make the world better by calling all men to leave the tomb and embrace new life in the King who defeats death.
