April 1

but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. — Luke 24:3 BSB

Suppose they had found the body there—what would have been the result?

That would have meant that Christ was still held in the grasp of death. They were disappointed not to find His body, but it was in this disappointment that the glorious hope arose, from which all our Christian joy flows today.

This lesson gives us comfort when we stand by the graves of our Christian loved ones. Though their bodies may rest in the ground, they—the ones we knew and loved—are not there. They are with the Lord.

Paul describes death as being “absent from the body, at home with the Lord.” You may go to the house where your friend once lived, only to find that they have moved to a new home on a hill. Likewise, when you stand beside the body of your loved one, remember that they have moved from their earthly home to a house not made with human hands, in the presence of the Lord.