John 11:17-44
Probably the most important question a person will ask in this life is, “How can I become a Christian?” I hear this question answered frequently this way, “You just have to ask Jesus into your heart”. I actually think many have come into the kingdom having asked Jesus to do just that. But…, the ones who continue to walk with Him, either on the front end, which I think is best, or in their experience along the way, discover and adjust to the fact that the One they invited into their hearts is a jealous Lord aspiring to be involved in every aspect of their lives. The ones that follow Him discover He is definitely not a just-on-Sunday kind of God.
If someone were to ask me this important question today, I might just refer them to John 11:25-26 and let Jesus tell them spirit to spirit;
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die……..”
I might invite them out for coffee in a week or so and ask them the same question Jesus did, “Do you believe this?” If George Barna, the author of Revolution, were given permission to look into the spirit realm and interview all those who have ever been authentically “born again”, I think his polls would reveal that all authentic conversions shared this one simple common denominator, “THEY BELIEVED IN HIM”.
After we follow Him for a while, more challenging aspects of having a Lord living in the center of our being vying for our hearts enter into play. We learn that we have our opinion on how things should transpire in our lives and that God has His. In three different places in this passage this inevitable impasse is seen. (Check out 11:21, 32 and 37.) The pattern of reasoning, even by Martha and Mary, who believed He was the Messiah and had inherited eternal life, went like this: “IF ONLY ……..”
That innocent sounding phrase, if only, betrays their dissatisfaction and ours. Listen for it, in its different forms, as it surfaces in your thoughts and words as , “Oh man!”, “That’s not fair!” or “What’s the deal!”. Isn’t our sarcasm, “Oh, that’s just perfect!, also just another thinly veiled form of “if only” ? I heard a very wise statement to this effect, “As those who are filled with His Spirit, we are no longer obligated to react to our circumstances, rather – we are invited to respond to a Person”. That is a nice restatement of Hebrews 4:13;
“…..it is with Him whom we have to do.”
This is what all who learn to follow Him discover; it is every aspect of our life He is interested in. He has a way that is better than our opinion. Learning that the Holy Spirit is indwelling us and has actually become our life is the essence of relating to Jesus as our Lord.
Father, thank You that you persevere with us even in our insistence on living our lives on our own terms. Let this folly run its course and let us be those who truly walk in the Spirit. May our lives serve as living proof to those around us that You indeed have sent Jesus, One who is not only worthy of our belief in as Savior but also worthy of our dependency on and submission to as Lord. Amen.