Day 2

So, today, I’m looking at John 11:17-27.

Jesus goes to the family and friends of Lazarus.

Martha goes out to meet Jesus and they have a meaningful conversation in which we can see Martha’s great faith in Jesus.  In who he is and what God could/would do through him.

Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

I can’t help but wonder…

What does this mean for me? 

How does it pertain to my life?

Does it?

I mean, yes because I believe, I will have eternal life… yada, yada (no disrespect intended).

But what does it mean to me and my life right here, right now?

Sometimes I think, what is written in the Bible was meant for just who was being spoken to in that story.  Sometimes it is just a story – we might learn something from it, sure, but the exact words aren’t necessarily for future readers (you and me) but other times I do feel that the message or words are meant for generations to come (you, me, our kids, their kids and so on.)

Is this one of those?  I don’t know.  I think about that last post where I said perhaps this is what this Lent is for me – a dying so I can be reborn – revived, renewed in my life and my faith. 

Is this what Jesus is talking about for future generations?  

I mean I feel like in that moment, all those years ago, Jesus was talking about Lazarus and Jesus’ followers. 

He was obviously speaking more metaphorically, because well, all of these people DID die and are not currently walking this earth all these years later. We assume they were resurrected but to live in heaven with Jesus, not actually resurrected like Lazarus was in the story here on earth. 

 I guess one day we will find that out for sure, but do you ever wonder if this and other messages in the Bible, especially from Jesus, aren’t more about our lives right here, right now? For each generation as they come?

I know there are plenty out there who think like me on this, we just tend to keep to ourselves.  I just hear so much about wanting to get to heaven, Heaven this and heaven that or even worse, about not wanting to go to Hell.  Hell and brimstone shared as scare tactics to make people “believe” … but do they really? Believe, I mean. 

What if…

What if it’s all more about right here, right now – not about some future heaven or hell somewhere in the sky or in the belly of the earth. 

What if Jesus is talking about metaphorically dying and then being resurrected right here right now? What if that was what he was meaning then too!  They all needed to die to themselves so that they could be resurrected into a new way of life with Jesus, right there, right then.

I have always believed that Jesus came to earth to teach us how to love, how to live, how to be a community. 

What if that is what this message from Jesus is all about for us as maybe it was for the people then… Die to yourself and be resurrected to a new way of living, one in harmony with each other and with all of God’s creation.

What if that is what it really means to “believe in him.”  To live like him, to love like him.

What would that look like today?  What would that mean for my life right here, right now? 

I think it would be greeting my neighbor with a wave and a smile, taking time to say hello. Taking a meal to a friend, just because I love them. Writing a message or note to someone because I thought of them… it could even just be being patient when the person in front of me is being slow.  

Sometimes, I wonder if we, as a society, even know anymore what it means to live in community?  For me, it means coming together to help others for no other reason than just helping.  It means getting to know each other, spending time with each other, making time for each other.  It means listening and being present.

I’ve become somewhat of a recluse in recent years.  I love my house and sometimes hate getting out.  Here’s an area where I might need to “die” and be reborn.  

This makes me think back to that Day One post when I said, “Do I need to go back…” Maybe I do need to get back out there, not necessarily in the church but in the community maybe actively BEING the church.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t actually think I’ve stopped that at all but haven’t been as present in person and maybe I need to be. I’ll make a list of these ideas as I go along on this journey and see where it leads me. 

Until next time… ♥️