The hope of heaven

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. (Michah 7:7 NIV)

Although attempts to circle around Africa go back to the pre-Christian period, the first successful rounding was by Portuguese mariner Bartolomeu Dias in 1488.

Tradition says that Dias originally named the area the “Cape of Storms”, and that he was overruled by the king of Portugal, who chose the name we know it by “Cape of Good Hope” as it represented the hope of a new route to the east.

Death, once the “cape of storms” where life and hopes were shipwrecked, was conquered when Jesus rose from the dead on Easter morning. When Mary Magdalene and two other women went to the tomb where Jesus had been buried, it was still dark. They had no idea how they would move the stone that sealed the tomb and they wondered how they would complete the embalming of Jesus’ body. To their surprise, when they reached the tomb, the stone was rolled away… but the body was gone.

Mary begins a conversation with a stranger in the garden, and one word from him turns her darkness to light: “Mary.” She recognizes the voice. It’s confusing, astonishing, unbelievable—and yet, Jesus is alive!

As a result of Jesus’ resurrection, like those fifteenth-century explorers, we can see beyond the “Cape of Storms” to the hope of heaven and eternal life with God. This living Jesus is with us still and promises each of us: “Because I live, you will live also.” That is the heart of our faith, and the reason we celebrate Easter. [1]

Easter is meant to be a symbol of hope, renewal, and new life. - Janine di Giovanni

[1] Activated Of Storms and Hope