Jesus said to Mary, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17)
When Jesus died, His followers were deeply confused and sad. When they later learned that He had risen from the dead, they could hardly believe it! But when they finally did, they were overjoyed.
One of Jesus’ followers, Mary Magdalene, met Him personally. She was so happy that her Master was alive that she clung to Him. Now that Jesus had come back to life, she did not want Him to get away from her again! But Jesus had to correct her. He did not allow Mary to hold on to Him, since He could not stay on earth. He had to return to God the Father.
God’s plan was different from Mary’s hopes and expectations. She had to let go of Jesus once more…
Although Jesus’ followers loved Him deeply, they often did not understand God’s ways. They needed to trust Him even when life and events unfolded differently from the way they expected. They needed to believe that the Lord knew best and that everything would be well.
Reading the Gospels, we learn how God’s salvation plan unfolded in history. But we don’t know how He will guide our personal lives. Do you trust Him, even when you don’t understand why certain things are happening?