Saturday, February 23, 2013

Lent: Lazarus

John 11:1-44
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I'm often struck by how much is omitted from the Bible. Despite Jesus' love for Lazarus and his two sisters, this chapter and the following are the only Gospel accounts of Jesus interacting with Lazarus. Who else did Jesus love that we never read about because the world itself could not contain the whole story (Jn 21:25)?
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We read about Lazarus at his time of greatest need, when his sisters had no one else to turn to besides the One they knew loved them. If Jesus had come immediately, He would have been too late (since He delayed two days and when He arrived Lazarus had been dead for four). But He waited, until there could be no doubt about the permanency of Lazarus' fate, until even the smell reassured everyone that the deceased had not simply been in a coma and mistakenly buried. He waited until hope was gone and the only thing left to do was to mourn. No human, even with the most modern medicine available today, could have resuscitated him and disproved the miracle.
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After the miracle of Lazarus' resurrection, he became a witness to Christ by his very life. We are also witnesses, or can be, if we choose to acknowledge the small and large miracles God brings about in our lives. Although you may not have been resurrected after four days, thank the Lord in prayers and conversations for the blessings you have received today. Did your morning preparations go smoothly? Were you able to avoid any accidents while driving today? Did you received unexpected blessings, such as a windshield cleared by the sun so you didn't have to scrape off any ice or an expression of love from one of your children? As you seek out the little gifts, you will probably uncover bigger blessings and miracles that you thought were just coincidences. And as you live focused on the blessings, communicating to all around you that those blessings come from the Lord, your life becomes a witness as significant as the witness of Lazarus.

1 comment:

  1. Esther, was a good reminder to remember how God has blessed me today, thankyou

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