Saturday, May 30, 2009

May 30, 2009

What is worse than being dead? Being real dead.
The highlight of John 11 is when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Many were amazed, a few were thrilled, and some believed in Him.
Unfortunately, there were those who were not impressed. There were those who were deader than dead. Not even Jesus could raise them.
What does it mean to be deader than dead? It means to be spiritually insensitive to God's truth. It means to be so committed to your own agenda that you are indifferent to the will of God. It means being so controlled by sin that you are dead to the Spirit of God. It mostly means trouble. Big trouble.
Raising Lazarus from the dead was not a hard thing for Jesus. Afterall, He IS the Resurrection and the Life. Lazarus had been dead for four days. He was sealed in a tomb. But that meant nothing to Jesus. He spoke and death fled.
But for those who were deader than dead, Jesus couldn't touch them. Jesus, who can do anything could do nothing for them. Their stubborn wills were beyond the reach of His sovereign will.
So, Lazarus lived again. He lived until he died. And then he lived forever!
Not so for these who were deader than dead. They never knew life - and then they died.
How ironic that at the same moment that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, there were those who chose death over life. They were dead wrong.