“But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away” (Mark 16:4). “In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee…’” (Luke 24:5-6)

The clear message is “Look up!” In looking up we see Jesus – alive, reigning and in charge. (1)

So on this Easter Sunday, look up. Annie Johnson Flint has stated it eloquently in her poem “I Look Not Back.”

I look not back: God knows the fruitless efforts,
The wasted hours, the sinning, the regrets;
I leave them all with Him, who blots the record,
And graciously forgives and then forgets.

I look not forward: God sees all the future,
The road, that short or long, will lead me home,
And He will face me with its every trial,
And bear with me the burdens that may come.

I look not round me: Then would fears assail me,
So would the tumult of earth’s restless seas;
So dark the world, so filled with woe and evil,
So vain the hope of comfort and of ease.

I look not inward: That would make me wretched,
For I have naught on which to stay my trust;
Nothing I see save failure and shortcomings
And weak endeavors, crumbling into dust.

But I look up: Into the face of Christ,
For there my heart can rest, my fears are stilled,
And there is joy, and love, and light for darkness.
And perfect peace, and every hope fulfilled.

Today look up and receive the peace of Christ.

(1) Picture from: itsabouttimebook.com

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