Your Daily Devotional for May 28, 2007

 

May 28,  2007

 

 

Remaining Faithful

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him."

 

Mark 16:1-6

 

 

As the glorious dawn of the resurrection morning appeared, God's redemptive work was complete. What a wonderful moment! God's righteous demand of a payment for sin was fulfilled by His Son Jesus. But the truth is, the early Christians did not immediately celebrate this great victory.

 

Most of the followers of Christ were in a state of shock or denial. Peter had returned to his fishing nets, and many of the disciples had joined him. Someone may suggest that they should have been rejoicing, but if we were honest, most of us don't do much better when faced with discouraging situations. Do we immediately trust Christ and remain faithful to Him? Or do we worry and turn from Him?

 

Also, it's amazing to observe who remained faithful and committed to the cause of Christ when pressures mounted. The Bible records that there was one individual who was faithful through all the trauma—Mary Magdalene.

 

Although she was still a young Christian, Mary followed Christ and served Him until His death. Undoubtedly with a broken heart, she followed Him down the way of sorrow to Calvary. There she watched the crowd mock Him as we see in Mark 15:29, "And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days."

 

She also saw the sky grow dark at midday as God turned His back on our sins which were placed on Christ as we see in Mark 15:33-34, "And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

 

Even through all the pain, Mary remained faithful to Jesus and followed Him. She could have very easily been captured and punished for following Him, yet she loved Him enough to risk her life.

 

When difficult times enter your life do you turn to God like Mary Magdalene or from God like the disciples? Turn to Christ today and ask Him to help you as you seek to live for Him.

 

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

2 Chronicles 4-6 • John 10:24-42

 

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