Life!

Life!

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; and all those who live and believe in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25‭-‬26 GNB

Context: Lazarus, a friend of the family, had just died. Mary and Martha sent for Jesus when Lazarus was still sick, yet Jesus delayed until Lazarus died. The One who could change situations 'sat on his hands' and let a good man die. Is that not a familiar refrain these days, where we ask: If God is good, why do bad things happen? If only we knew half the story, maybe our refrain will be different. If God is good, why do we find it so convenient to do what is bad? 

So, Lazarus died and was buried, and four days later, Jesus shows up. I imagine what was going on in the minds of both Mary and Martha and the crowd who knew Jesus was a friend of the family. They had seen him raise the dead; in fact, in one instance, He only spoke the word of healing and the word went ahead to effect the healing. Jesus didn't have to show up. If He could do all that, why was Lazarus different? Well, do my experiences in any way determine if God is God? Is He God simply because He gives me what I want or when I want it? 

Martha, ever the outspoken one, voiced out what most, if not all of us would say: 'If you were here, my brother would not have died'. We assume that Jesus in our boat keeps us away from storms, but in all the accounts in the Bible, at no time did it happen that Jesus kept his own from tough times. We cannot claim immunity from persecution, simply because the Lord of the universe is in our lives. In fact, His promise is that in this world, we will have tribulations. He does not leave that hanging; He says He has overcome the world, and that should give us joy that no matter what the world brings, it will meet us in the victory God has already sealed for us, before He calls us into battle. 

And today's extract is Jesus' response to Martha's concerns. No matter what has gone before or is happening here, keep your eyes on me. Oh, it is easier said than done. When there are raging storms and high winds, it takes a settled heart, one which knows Who keeps it sane, to focus on what is truly important. Jesus just makes this very clear: focus on who I am, not what you know. I am the key to all that you ever need. Even for the times you do not yet know, and the future that is yet uncertain, leave them all to me. He calls Himself the Resurrection and the Life, and then makes two connected claims, both of which go to who He is. He says: if you believe in me, physical death has no hold on you. He also says: those who are alive now and believe in me have passed over from death to eternal life. Two parts to the same truth. I am the resurrection and the Life. In me, death has no hold and all who believe in me has received that same life. That is what I receive in union with Christ. 

And as Jesus asked Martha then, so does He ask today: do you believe this statement? Eternity hangs on your response, because your eternity rests upon what you do with Jesus. Is he my Saviour and Lord, or do I have other viable options? Is He my life now, or am I trying to secure life through our means? And my actions will reflect my belief. If I truly believe He is the resurrection and the Life, my life will show it. Eternity is too long a time not to know where you will spend it. Make sure you are on the side of life. His time of favour is here.