Jesus, help me to live a life that is pleasing to You.
February 28, 2017
Read: John 11:17–27 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 20–22; Mark 7:1–13
For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
In a Washington Post article titled “Tech Titans’ Latest
Project: Defy Death,” Ariana Cha wrote about the efforts of Peter Thiele
and other tech moguls to extend human life indefinitely. They’re
prepared to spend billions on the project.
They are a little late. Death has already been defeated! Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25–26). Jesus assures us that those who put their trust in Him will never, ever, under any circumstances whatever, die.
To be clear, our bodies will die—and there is nothing anyone can do
to change that. But the thinking, reasoning, remembering, loving,
adventuring part of us that we call “me, myself, and I” will never, ever
die.
And here’s the best part: It’s a gift! All you have to do is receive the salvation Jesus offers. C. S. Lewis, musing on this notion, describes it as something like “a chuckle in the darkness”—the sense that something that simple is the answer.
Some say, “It’s too simple.” Well, I say, if God loved you even before you were born and wants you to live with Him forever, why would He make it hard?
They are a little late. Death has already been defeated! Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25–26). Jesus assures us that those who put their trust in Him will never, ever, under any circumstances whatever, die.
And here’s the best part: It’s a gift! All you have to do is receive the salvation Jesus offers. C. S. Lewis, musing on this notion, describes it as something like “a chuckle in the darkness”—the sense that something that simple is the answer.
Some say, “It’s too simple.” Well, I say, if God loved you even before you were born and wants you to live with Him forever, why would He make it hard?
Dear Jesus, I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I want to accept You as my Lord and Savior and follow You. Please forgive my sins and help me, from this moment on, to live a life that is pleasing to You.
Christ has replaced the dark door of death with the shining gate of life.
INSIGHT:
Often when confronted with death, we are tempted to either deny
how painful it is or to live without hope, only seeing the grief. In
this passage, Jesus holds together both the horror of death and the sure
promise of life. Because death is a tragic distortion of God’s good
creation, Jesus as the Resurrection and Life is all that is opposed to
it. If we read the whole story of Lazarus’s resurrection, we see a
fuller picture of how Jesus responds to death and grief. He is “deeply
moved” and “troubled” (John 11:33) and He weeps (v. 35). Seeing death in
all its horror, He defiantly overcomes it and raises Lazarus to life.
Jesus’s shout, “Lazarus, come out!” (v. 43) points to the hope of our
own bodily resurrection.
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