Lazarus factor
Yesterday when I read a portion of John, I came across a verse that I haven't ever thought about, "...the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him" (John 12:10-11).
Here's a guy, Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Jesus himself...he's overjoyed by the new life, but some people just can't take it. They can't take it Lazarus is alive. It goes against the status quo. If a person is dead, they are to stay dead! So instead of celebrating with Lazarus, being awed by the miracle, the leaders are ticked. They want to shut Lazarus up by killing him again.
U2 has a line in one of their songs, "Don't let the bast**** drag you down." There are all kinds of people around us who want us to stay normal, don't rock the boat, don't be happy, don't feel joy, don't be yourself...because when we are truly ourselves, when we are truly moving into the future God has in store for us, they have to change too. Instead of changing along with us, they want to change us back to the people we were before "new life" happened. For some it's living into the new life Christ has in store for us in the present moment and in the days ahead. When we embrace the future with Christ, the future God has in mind for us, it will necessarily move us away from some people, things, and/or behaviors. But even when we don't move away from relationships, our new life will change those around us...some will like the change, and others won't. If it happened to Lazarus, it will happen to us.
And yet, what if the one trying to drag us down is ourselves? After all, there may be in our lives a propensity to fear success...to fear the unknown of a new tomorrow.
Either way, we move forward with Christ, trusting in the protection, grace, and strength he provides.
Here's a guy, Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Jesus himself...he's overjoyed by the new life, but some people just can't take it. They can't take it Lazarus is alive. It goes against the status quo. If a person is dead, they are to stay dead! So instead of celebrating with Lazarus, being awed by the miracle, the leaders are ticked. They want to shut Lazarus up by killing him again.
U2 has a line in one of their songs, "Don't let the bast**** drag you down." There are all kinds of people around us who want us to stay normal, don't rock the boat, don't be happy, don't feel joy, don't be yourself...because when we are truly ourselves, when we are truly moving into the future God has in store for us, they have to change too. Instead of changing along with us, they want to change us back to the people we were before "new life" happened. For some it's living into the new life Christ has in store for us in the present moment and in the days ahead. When we embrace the future with Christ, the future God has in mind for us, it will necessarily move us away from some people, things, and/or behaviors. But even when we don't move away from relationships, our new life will change those around us...some will like the change, and others won't. If it happened to Lazarus, it will happen to us.
And yet, what if the one trying to drag us down is ourselves? After all, there may be in our lives a propensity to fear success...to fear the unknown of a new tomorrow.
Either way, we move forward with Christ, trusting in the protection, grace, and strength he provides.
posted by Mike Weaver at 11:44 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home