Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
John 11:38-44
All around us there is new life emerging.
If we take the time to notice, we will see that new life is continually happening. I recently heard a story about a man who came across a cocoon where the butterfly was trying to emerge. He could see that there was a struggle going on underneath the cocoon. He wanted to help the butterfly to emerge, so he opened part of the cocoon. What came out was a deformed, swollen body with wings that were underdeveloped and unable to operate properly in allowing the butterfly to fly. The man did not help the process; rather, he caused the butterfly to have stunted growth and development, causing a shortened life span.
The struggle within the cocoon is what strengthens the muscles and the wings of the butterfly to be strong. The striving to escape enables a butterfly to fly and survive when outside of the cocoon. Once the butterfly emerges from the cocoon, he experiences a new life of freedom that didn’t exist within the cocoon.
When Jesus called to Lazarus to “come out” of the grave, Lazarus had no choice but to obey.
In John chapter 11, Mary and her sister, Martha, were both grieving the death of their brother, Lazarus. They were troubled and trying to deal with his death. When Jesus finally arrived, both sisters, in separate meetings, told Jesus that if he had been there, their brother would not have died. In other words, they believed that Jesus would have healed their brother. They also believed that Lazarus would rise again in the resurrection on the last day. But they did not know that Jesus had the power to raise Lazarus right then. When Jesus called to Lazarus to “come out” of the grave, Lazarus had no choice but to obey. Verse 44 says that when he came out, “his hands and feet were bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped in cloth. Jesus said to them, unbind him, and let him go.
New life comes because of relationship with Jesus.
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. When the wrappings came off him, he was able to move around and live a new life. He was proof of the power Jesus had over life and death. Mary, Martha and Lazarus would go on to face further trails before each of them would die. As they worked through the struggles, the battles would be a way to strengthen them, to build their trust in Jesus, and deepen their relationship with him. Believing that through the conflicts Jesus would be with them each step of the way, they would be comforted. Their relationship with Jesus would be their new life.
Life is difficult and presents various challenging situations. Mostly, we just wish that we didn’t have to deal with any hardships, or at least not have so many of them. But if each trial strengthens us and draws us to grow closer to God, we can be encouraged in times of trouble. We can be reminded that our new life is about a relationship with God.
Questions:
- Is your self-talk allowing circumstances to control you?
- Do you trust that the battles that come into your life can actually benefit you?
- When trials or blessings come into your life, do you ever stop to consider how God could be using the trial or blessing as a way to draw you closer to him?
- If you believed that God was for you, do you think you would invite Him into your world?
Song: