God of power and might, show Your love to the needs of this dear reader today and all days; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
We continue our study of Jesus' amazing power in John 11: 11 He said these things, and then announced, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. I'm going to wake him up." 12 The disciples said, "Master, if he's gone to sleep, he'll get a good rest and wake up feeling fine." 13 Jesus was talking about death, while his disciples thought he was talking about taking a nap. 14 Then Jesus became explicit: "Lazarus died. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I wasn't there. You're about to be given new grounds for believing. Now let's go to him." 16 That's when Thomas, the one called the Twin, said to his companions, "Come along. We might as well die with him." (The Message).
What is your view about death? If you're like me and others, we wonder, what happens when we die? Do we immediately go to Heaven or do we sleep for a bit? And if we sleep, what happens to our soul? Jesus' view of death is clear: He does not consider death as final, notice His reference to Lazarus as having "fallen asleep." And Jesus also knows that death is not to be feared. In the verses that are coming tomorrow and the next, we'll see more of how Jesus viewed death. What Jesus shares today is that these disciples will receive "new grounds for believing." And Thomas then, shares with his friends, that they should go along with Jesus to die. Whether that was simply a resignation toward eventual death or a new view of death based on what Jesus was teaching and living, we don't know. But one thing we do know, the best is yet to come.
Death is a part of life when one trusts and believes in God. Through Jesus, as we will see in coming verses, we believers will share in resurrection. But don't miss the main point of what Jesus is trying to; Jesus wants us to realize that the Kingdom of Heaven is here and should be in us, rather than think that Jesus just wants people to get to Heaven. The more important thing is to let Heaven come into us.
PRAYER: Loving God, let Heaven come into me. Let me help others see the need of people around us, especially those living in a place that seems separated from God. May my days here on earth count as those given to me to serve You and Yours. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.
Eradio Valverde
