Jesus asked Mary ‘Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Mary was looking for Jesus in the grave. The risen Lord was standing before her, but she could not identify him. The disciples of John met Jesus and asked Him in Mat 11:3 ‘are you the Messiah we are expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’. When situations become difficult, and sorrow clouds our eyes, we are not able to identify the plan of God in that situation. Very often we keep asking ‘God where are you?,” All along God is standing close to us but our clouded brain and eyes heavy with despair cannot recognize Him. Mary’s eyes were blinded to the presence of Jesus who asked her ‘who is it you are looking for’ In times of distress who is it we look for?. Do we seek comfort in company of friends or resort to other things to drown our sorrow. The risen Lord is with us all the time watching us run from pillar to post in search of solace.

Jesus is standing close to us, watching us and ready to put His arms around us to comfort and console. We need to be aware of His presence in our life. In Jeremiah 29:13 we read “If you look for me wholeheartedly you’ll find me.” We need to be focused on our efforts to find Jesus. Mary could not recognize Jesus because her heart was heavy with sorrow. In Luke: 24:38-39 when Jesus appeared before the disciples He said “Why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet.” They did not believe in the words of Jesus that He would rise again. Imperfect understanding of Jesus can prevent us from recognizing Him as God who can work wonders in our life. Truth will set us free and enable us to recognize the presence of God with us in our griefs, losses and sorrows.

Dr. (Mrs.) Edriana Jeyasingh