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Being Bound

'Lazarus, Come Out!'
John Chapter 11

Pod cast/Lazarus-is-called-back-to-life


The story of Lazarus if a very helpful one for our current predicament. Like Lazarus we are physically restricted and bound; we are prevented from going out, seeing people, going to work, going about our normal business. We are told that Lazarus has been dead for 4 days. We will be restricted for much longer and we will be challenged not to give ourselves over to a spiritual or emotional death.

It is important that we hold on to the bigger picture - whilst Lazarus was bound his family (Mary and Martha) were in relationship with Jesus. In the midst of their grief they dared to trust that Jesus would help them. Sometimes, indeed, most of the time, events don't occur when we want them to. Jesus seems to deliberately stay away from Bethany in order that God might be glorified.

We are also playing a waiting game, we are waiting for the sign that it is safe to resume our normal lives. We are also in some ways waiting for death - people are dying every day. Whilst we wait others are busy, tending to the sick, keeping the supermarket shelves full, emptying our rubbish bins, burying the dead and much more.

But, this is all in God's time. Whilst we may feel abandoned to the virus at the moment, we trust that God is still the God of love, that He made His creation, loves it and tenderly cares for it. Whilst Jesus was absent for a while, he did return and he asked Martha a question:

'I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

Martha replies:

'Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.'

And, so Jesus is asking us the same question now. It may be that the situation is challenging, yes you will face pain, struggle and death in your life time, but 'Do you believe I am the Resurrection and the Life?' This is our opportunity to declare our faith, to 'come of age' as it were in our discipleship.

'Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die'


A Prayer

Lord Jesus
You called Lazarus forth from the tomb, 
You set him free from death and sin.
Help us, Lord Jesus,
To follow Martha in the way of faith
And to proclaim you as the Lord or Life and Death
the Messiah, the Saviour of the World, 
Amen 


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