Many of us are privileged to know people who have great faith in God and love Him deeply. Such men and women have inspired many by their examples, teaching volumes with their words and lives. Sometimes it can be disheartening if we hear that someone quite far along in his or her knowledge of God is confronting adversity. We might argue, "How can I expect to get anywhere with God, if someone who knows Him so much better than I do is having difficulties?"
Even some of Jesus' followers were disillusioned after he was crucified. They may have wondered if everything Jesus had said about God was a farce, because now he was wrapped in graveclothes and lying in a tomb. Yet the very message of Jesus' crucifixion was that hatred, betrayal, desertion, and torture cannot destroy pure goodness. After all, Jesus didn't consent to death but proved its powerlessness— finally ascending, totally victorious over mortality and death.
When the Master's disciples realized that his crucifixion had not destroyed him, they were able to go on following his example and serving in his name.
