‘Jesus said to her, ”I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”’ (vv25–26) John 11:17–44
We must each personally face and address our death, an unavoidable consequence of life. Jesus invites us to place confidence in His promise of life beyond the grave.
Thomas à Kempis (1380–1471) wrote, ‘If you have ever seen a man die, remember that you, too, must go the same way. In the morning consider that you may not live till evening, and when evening comes do not dare to promise yourself the dawn. Be always ready, therefore, and so live that death will never take you unprepared.’
Jesus demonstrates that He is the resurrection and life. Lazarus, dead for four days, is restored to life by Jesus. He cannot resist Jesus’ command, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ (v43). He had to name Lazarus, or every corpse in that communal tomb would have been resuscitated, for Jesus is the resurrection and the life forever. Death itself is subject to Jesus.
Lazarus, like all those Jesus healed, remained mortal and, as such, faced death again. However, the promise was illustrated in plain sight that life is found in Christ alone. What we fear we have lost can be revived by the life and love of Jesus. It’s a sign of the power He has over every expression of death. This means the anticipated fruit from missed opportunities and the opportunity for recovery from unexpected experiences. Jesus finds us in our darkest night and leads us into a new day (vv9–10).
One reason we live every day with Jesus is to discover life where we feared, and found, only death whilst stumbling in the dark. Jesus offers everyone a fresh dawn.
RELATED SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER: 2 Sam. 12:1–14; 1 Kings 17:7–24; Luke 19:1–9; John 4:7–30.
AN ACTION TO TAKE: What dreams will you invite God to resuscitate?
A PRAYER TO MAKE: ‘Lord, in my darkest night may I look towards the light of Your love. Amen.’
Photo by irewolede on Unsplash
