Not in the Grave
Inside Edition reports:
In 2000, Fatima and Kamaron Hickman welcomed the birth of their first and only child together on Aug. 21 in Landstuhl, Germany, where the young Army couple was stationed.
Jada Hickman died of SIDS when she was only 6 months old. Her parents grieved her death, burying her at Hillcrest Memorial Park. Over 20 years later, her parents decided to exume her body and have it cremated so that a part of her could be with each of them no matter where they were.
But when the cemetary attempted to exume her body, they could not find it. According to Inside Edition:
The anguished parents of Jada Hickman say there is nothing left of their baby's remains after 22 years at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Augusta, Georgia. Not her casket, not her white dress, not her shoes, not her tiny body or skeleton. "As we discussed with you, we apologize that due to the passage of time, we were unable to recover the remains of your daughter," wrote a cemetery official in an email to the mother.
Jada's body couldn't be found, whether because (as the cemetary claims) she had already rapidly decomposed, or because (as her father claims) she was buried in the wrong place, or because she was never actually buried at all.
But the story for Jesus is different. Jesus' body couldn't be found because He rose from the grave! And this wasn't 20 years later, but on the third day, when there was no confusion about where or how He was buried.
The plain truth is that Jesus rose. No sorrow. No confusion. Just incomparable joy!
Our risen Savior, with us always ... everywhere we go.
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ...
Then Jesus came to them and said, "...surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:6, 20, NIV
Ordinary No More
I remember when I lived in the Northeast, there was this tree that blended in with all of the rest ... until Fall came. That's when it would become the most brilliant and the most beautiful of all the trees in our area.
Seeing that beautiful tree always made me think of the resurrection when some pretty ordinary people will literally burst forth and shine with differing degrees of glory, depending only upon their love for God.
Amazing stuff is coming people!
"The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:41-42).
The World Celebrated A Full Tomb
In 1922, Howard Carter made what is probably the greatest archeological discovery in history. He found the ancient tomb of the Pharaoh, known as Tutankhamun or King Tut. This was significant because, unlike other tombs that had been emptied by grave robbers, this tomb was full of priceless artifacts, as well as the body of King Tut himself.
It took eight years to remove and document the contents of the tomb. The mummified remains and his treasures were sent all over the world. Millions upon millions of people stood in line for hours just to catch a glimpse of a dead king. The whole world celebrated because that tomb was NOT empty.
As Christians, we celebrate because of the tomb that WAS empty! When the tomb of Jesus was discovered by women two thousand years ago, they expected to find his body. But instead, an angel said, “He is not here. He is risen!” (Matthew 28:6).
The empty tomb of Jesus Christ is filled with more reason to celebrate than the full tomb of King Tut!