“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
-Luke 24:5
It’s early morning. The women come to the tomb with spices, hearts heavy with grief, prepared to tend to death. But what they find shakes the ground of their expectations: the stone rolled away, the body gone, and two messengers asking the most unexpected question: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”
It’s a question that echoes beyond that first Easter morning.
Because don’t we all, at times, look for life in places that can’t truly offer it?
We look for worth in our accomplishments.
We seek love through the lens of approval.
We chase peace through busyness, trying to outrun our anxiety.
We turn back to habits, relationships, or rhythms that once made us feel safe – even when they no longer serve us.
Grief, fear, and disappointment can keep us in the graveyard, lingering near old hopes or tired narratives, unsure of what resurrection even looks like.
But the tomb is empty, and the question remains:
Why are you searching for life in what cannot hold it?
The good news of Easter is not only that Christ is risen, but that we are invited to rise, too. To lift our eyes. To let go of what is lifeless. To trust that God is already at work beyond what we can see – rolling away stones, rewriting endings, breathing life into dry places.
This week, consider:
Where might you be looking for the living among the dead?
What are you being invited to leave behind so you can step into new life?
Christ is risen. And life is calling.
