Years ago a young woman whom I worked with asked me why it was that the women in Jesus’ life went to the tomb so soon after Jesus died. Her question took me off guard and I could only answer that it must have been their grief. This young woman had come to my home and I pulled one of my Bibles off my bookshelf. She had been asking me a lot of questions about faith in the past month, more about my faith than about my business. So I decided it was time that I could show her where to find the stories in Scriptures.
In the Gospels today (John 20:1-18 and Luke 24:1-12), we read that the women came and found the tomb empty, they grieved, then when Mary saw Jesus after he called her name, he told her to go tell the others. Then we read the men didn’t believe her story until Peter went to see for himself. The young woman I was talking with asked,
“So you have to see his ghost or hear a voice?”
“No,” I said. “You don’t have to hear a voice or see his face. You only have to trust your heart. Yours is being drawn to learn more about Jesus. There are good places you can do that. I’m happy to be sharing with you, but I’d like to invite you to church where you can meet other people who also believe and some who are searching and learning like you are.”
Then I went on to tell her that as Christians we believe that Jesus is God made man in the flesh and God the Holy Spirit. There are verses in the Bible that tell us this. So when we seek to learn about Jesus, we come to know about God and the Holy Spirit. And then I asked, “If you find it difficult to believe in God as a person and as a Spirit, would you find it easier to believe me when I said that God is Love?
She asked, “What kind of love?”
I answered, “Perfect love. Unconditional love. He loves you just the way you are, so much that he is willing to give you His life.”
“How can he give me his life if he is dead?” She asked.
I answered, “Because only his body died. God’s Spirit, the same one that was in Jesus is alive, and God’s life is in the Holy Spirit.
That’s what God wants to give you, that’s what Jesus promised to give to everyone who asks for it, life in the Holy Spirit. Would you like that?”
She said “Yes,” and we prayed a simple prayer.
“Lord, please come into my life and give me the gift of your Holy Spirit. AMEN”
Today, she is a believer and prays for and with other people. Oh, yes, she did start attending church services and brought her family as well.
Let us pray,
Lord, Thank you for loving us so much that you are still willing to give us Your Life and Spirit. Thank you for the gift of being part of the family of God. Thank you for the stories of your life, death, resurrection and ascension. Thank you for the stories about other people receiving your Holy Spirit. Please listen to the prayers of those who desire life in you and give them your Holy Spirit today and every day. Fill the earth with your perfect Love. AMEN
