Nothing Matters

We have all had plans wrecked, dreams crushed, hopes killed. Whether it be close family members or distant relations, casual acquaintances, pets, national leaders, celebrities, house plants, we have all experienced death in some way or another. Death is part of our mortal experience, but it is not the only part, nor the most important part. When we are overwhelmed with grief, stricken by loss, drowning in an immense ocean of despair, we may be tempted to believe that nothing matters. It is true. Nothing matters. Nothing is the void before creation. Nothing is the stillness in the eye of the storm. Nothing is the darkness before the dawn. Nothing is the blank canvas, the silence between notes of a symphony. Like death and grief and loss, Nothing matters. Nothing is important and necessary. The most important and necessary Nothing was discovered by Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome on the third day after the death of their Master and their Friend. Nothing is the empty tomb and it matters. It means that Nothing is not the end but the beginning. Nothing matters because it means that Everything matters. The thousands and millions of ways that we have experienced Nothing - death and disillusionment and disappointment - all of these are temporary, thanks to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ descended below all things, He is able to rise above all things, and to bring all things up to be with Him. Because Jesus died, He is able to live again. Because He became Nothing, now He is Everything. Death hurts so much because it means something, because it matters, because Nothing matters. But as deeply as death hurts, the joy that comes from resurrection pierces our hearts even more keenly. As much as Nothing matters, Everything matters much, much more. As painful as it has been to see our plans wrecked and our dreams crushed and our hopes killed, it will be even more joyful when we witness the power of Christ's resurrection as He revives and restores once more our plans and breathes new life into our dreams and our hopes. The Cross is one of the most important symbols of one of the most important events in all of human history. But the empty tomb is an even more important symbol of an even more important event. Christ dying for our sins would be tragic but ultimately meaningless if He did not also rise again as our Resurrected Lord. The power of the Atonement comes from both death and life, sadness and happiness, pain and joy, Nothing and Everything.