From the Grave

The Lord has been calling to my attention the story of Lazarus these past few weeks. It is written that Lazarus had been dead for 4 days in the tomb before Jesus came there. Martha (the sister of Lazarus) said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21). Jesus shares in Martha's mourning and sadness (He actually wept with her), and then went over to the tomb and commanded Lazarus to come out. Lazarus did as Jesus commanded him to do and was indeed raised from the dead...after being in the tomb for 4 days. So that's the story of Lazarus in a nutshell. The number of times I've heard it in the past couple of weeks has been incredible. I heard it once in a talk by Joyce Meyer, once in a Lenten devotional I've been reading here and there, once in my Max Lucado book I've been reading (Next Door Savior: Near Enough to Touch. Strong Enough to Trust), and once at Mass this morning. I've also heard quite a few references to it lately, which are as follows: "I will open your graces and have you rise from them" (Ezekiel 37:12), "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1), and "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light" (Ephesians 5:8). I know that hearing the same thing several times is not a mistake...especially when it's something told to us by God.

So what's He trying to tell me? Although I'm not quite sure yet, I can draw one non-specific parallel between us and Lazarus. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, showing everyone that even though he really was dead (for 4 days!), nothing is impossible for Christ. This relates to how we are dead to sin, and no matter how far we think we have fallen from God, no matter how many sins we have committed or how terrible they are, He will bring us back to life. He will call us (by name) out of our tomb, and we have the choice to get up and come out of our grave (which is sin), or remain dead.

I pray that God will reveal to me just what He wants to say with all that He has been teaching me about Lazarus. I am looking forward to finding out just why He has been repeatedly bringing this remarkable story to my attention.