Jesus has been crucified and buried. His disciples had scattered, just as he had told them they would. Early on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene went to Jesus’ tomb. Her heart must have been full of grief, but what she found took her breath away. The tomb was empty! She found Peter and John and told them the stone that had sealed the tomb had been rolled back and Jesus’ body was not there. Peter and John ran to the tomb. Had Mary found her way to some small church, they might have formed a committee to study the issue. They might have argued about the things Jesus had said before and might have insisted on voting on the right course of action.

Peter and John ran to the tomb. That is really amazing. It would have been so easy for Peter to question himself. He had been rebuked for attacking one of the temple guards when Jesus was arrested. If that weren’t bad enough, he had denied Jesus to the people standing around outside the trial before the religious leaders. He must have been full of self-doubt, maybe even self-loathing. And yet, when there was a hint that Jesus had actually done what he said he would do–rise from the dead–Peter ran to the tomb.

A little later, Peter was fishing in a boat with some friends. They had caught nothing. Someone on the shoreline told them to cast their net to the other side of the boat. When they did, their net scooped up a huge catch of fish. One of the disciples said, “It is the Lord.” Peter didn’t hesitate. He didn’t patiently row the boat ashore. He jumped out of the boat and splashed his way to Jesus.

It may be that in your youth group, students approach Jesus with a hesitant Texas Two-step, sliding toward him, then backing away. Somehow, I think we have to instill in the students we touch such a passion for Jesus that they hike up their robes and run to him any time they recognize him.

How do we do that? I’m only sure of one thing. We can’t lead them to that kind of abandon if we don’t have our own sneakers on, ready to pursue Jesus wherever we see him lead.