Have you ever heard of National Opposite Day? Yep, it’s a fact. It is recognized in January as a day when kids (and playful adults) say the opposite of what they mean-“yes” means “no,” and “up” really means “down”, etc. An actual day set aside to catch a glimpse of what the world would be like if the opposite of everything
happened.
Funny thing is, the way God does things often looks backwards to us. Jesus says in Matthew 20:16, ” So the last will be first, and the first last.” Paul makes a declaration about his suffering and hardships, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Giving leads to gaining according to Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.”
The empty tomb of Jesus stands as the greatest reversal of all. What looked like tragedy became triumph. What seemed like an ending was really a beginning. An empty tomb holds the fullness of life. To use the words empty and full to describe the same thing doesn’t sound right. It’s like staring at an empty pitcher, clearly void of content, and yet insisting it’s full. By the world’s standards, empty is lacking—an absence, a void, a loss.
If our wallet is empty, we are poor. If there’s an empty chair at the table, we are lonely. If our children have moved out, we call it an empty nest. An empty house echoes. An empty heart aches. The world tends to look at emptiness as something to avoid-something sad, something broken.
But God doesn’t define empty the way we do. “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” (Luke 24:5-6). The tomb is empty- and this holy emptiness changed everything. It’s a paradox the world may never understand. The emptiest space in history-the tomb of Jesus Christ-is also the fullest. It is through that emptiness that we are given fullness.
Fullness of salvation.
Fullness of peace.
Fullness of healing.
Fullness of riches-not of gold or silver, but of grace.
Fullness of resurrection power.
Fullness of eternal hope.
Fullness of joy in the presence of a risen Savior.
May you and I look to The One we can trust with our own empty places-the ones we fear, the ones we don’t understand. May we be reminded that if God can bring life from a grave, He can bring purpose from anything. Let the fullness of Jesus’ resurrection fill
every corner of our hearts today.
Rays of Sunshine inc 