Doing Our Part

Good morning dear brothers and sisters in Christ! It is a beautiful and sunny day in Dallas. Let us keep in our prayers Diego and the Luna family as Diego went in this morning for further tests. Also, let us remember Rev. Finees Flores who is very ill in San Antonio; let us pray for him, his wife, and family.

Today’s passage is John 11:38-44 where we find the raising of Lazarus from the dead. A truly impressive miracle of Jesus. First, Jesus heard of his good friend’s illness and did not immediately respond. Then, he arrived too late (in the opinion of Martha and Mary) to help Lazarus. But after all is said and done, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Can you imagine that?

This is a very well known passage. One of the aspects of this account that has always intrigued me is John 11:44 – “And Lazarus came out, bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth. Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him go!" And prior to this, “they” were asked by Jesus to remove the stone - "Roll the stone aside," Jesus told them (John 11:39). What captures my attention is this – if you’re going to raise someone from the dead, why would you need “help” removing a stone and some garments?!? If you’re going to raise someone who has been dead for four days to life, why not just do the whole thing?

Seeing it as a whole, there are those things that we must do. God will always to His part, but we’ve got to do ours for our faith experience to be complete. We have to remove some “stones” from our way in order for Him to complete His work in us. There are some “garments” that we need to remove that will enable us to be truly free to love and serve Christ with our all. Could Jesus have done it all? If he was going to raise a dead man, yes, I think he could have. But he didn’t because I think there is a deeper lesson here for us. God has done His part of “raising us from the dead (sin)” through Christ, but we must do our part and remove those things from our lives that hinder a complete freedom to love and serve Christ.

What “stones” do you need to remove today? What “garments” are keeping us from serving Christ fully?

Prayer: Lord, thank you that you never arrive too late. You always step in right on time. Empower us to remove the “stones” and “garments” from our lives so that we may love and serve you in a more complete way. In your Name we pray. Amen.

By grace alone,
Pastor David