John 11:25-26
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
The story of Lazarus being raised from the dead is one that can and should encourage us, but sometimes, it can raise many questions. It is an illustration of the final resurrection yet to come. But Jesus raised His friend from death to reveal the power that God has over death. It substantiated what Jesus told His disciples this news of Lazarus was that death is not the end of us, but for the glory of God.
V4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
We have so much written between the covers of the bible that points to Jesus, either plainly or veiled in mystery, that it really comes down to a matter of a simple choice:
Do you believe? It is not an open-ended question. You can say, "God said it, that settles it, I believe it" or "I don't believe it" Some may try to say that they believe a little bit of it, or just the red lettered words of Jesus, and dispose the rest of Scripture.
God never intended us to believe in Him just a little bit. In fact, the word of God says if we are to be saved, we are to believe with our whole heart:
Romans 10:9-10 "...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. "
If your view of Jesus' power to raise Lazarus from death is nothing but a parlor trick, I would advise you to reconsider the magnitude what the story truly conveys. It wasn't done to prove anything more than the power and glory of God manifested in His Son, and His authority He has over death, so that we would believe He is God in flesh. In return, as we believe in this truth, we too will overcome death and have eternal life. The heart (the mind of our soul), if not carefully cared for, can and will deceive us every time.
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?"
But if we tend to our heart, enriched by the Holy Spirit and the word of God, it will be the fuel that energizes our belief and trust in the Lord. Believing with a true and sincere belief fuels our faith, and our faith pleases God.
Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Do you believe?
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