Scripture: John 20:18 – “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’—and that he had said these things to her.”
Once you’ve seen it, you can never go back.
Ever had that happen?
You’ve seen something so different (typically, so gross) you can’t get it out of your head?
That’s what I keep thinking about Mary Magdalene. Once she encountered Jesus—truly saw Him for who He was—there was no returning to her old life. No pretending that everything could just continue as before.
There’s something about Mary’s journey that feels so complete—like it captures the full arc of what it means to encounter Jesus.
Maybe we can find our story in hers.
Remember where Mary started? In darkness. In bondage. Scripture tells us Jesus cast seven demons out of her. We don’t know the specifics of her suffering, but we know it was real and it was deep.
And Jesus met her right there—not asking her to clean herself up first, not requiring her to have it all together.
He delivers us from darkness. Full stop.
And once you’ve seen that kind of deliverance, you can’t “not see it!”
There is no going back to “not knowing” there is a power and presence within that changes everything (if we allow it to).
Mary’s encounter shaped her with a Divine Love she never anticipated, nor understood. Yet . . .
Love compelled her to follow Christ with full devotion.
Even when it led her to the foot of a cross where her heart would break. But we don’t read of her “deep regrets.” She simply weeps.
When we are overwhelmed, sad, brokenhearted, we are tempted to go back through it with a “post-mortem” looking for all the ways we should have, could have been different.
Not Mary. Her devotion gave her the space to accept things as they were, brokenheartedness and all.
But the heartbreak was not the final part of the story.
Because she stayed. And continued to serve – going to the tomb early in the morning to tend to the grave.
Because of that – Mary became the first witness to resurrection. The first to announce the greatest news humanity would ever hear: “I have seen the Lord!”
Once you’ve seen resurrection power—once you’ve tasted the depth of unconditional love and radical grace—life can’t ever be the same again. You begin to see differently. Your priorities shift. Your perspective changes. Your life rearranges itself around this undeniable truth: Jesus is alive, and He invites you to be fully alive, too.
Maybe today you’re reminded of your own “Mary” moment—the time when you truly saw Jesus. Perhaps you’ve felt the tension of trying to slip back into old patterns, old thinking, old fears. But you can’t “unsee” the life-changing grace you’ve experienced.
What does it mean for you today to live fully into that truth? How does knowing that Jesus is alive right now—active, present, and inviting—reshape your day, your choices, your relationships?
Once you’ve seen Him, there’s no going back. And why would you ever want to?
Reflection & Application:
Reflect today: What has your encounter with Jesus changed in your life that you can’t “unsee”?
In what area do you feel called to deeper devotion, knowing you’ve witnessed His love firsthand?
Take a step today to live openly, boldly, and faithfully into the reality you’ve seen in Christ.
Grace and Peace,
Andrea