Glory of the Lord-VIII

Introduction

John 11:40 "Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?"

The above passage talks about the miracle performed by our Lord Jesus Christ to his friend Lazarus. Our Lord Jesus reveals his glory. In order to reveal his divine glory, he performs his miracle. Even in our lives we should pray to witness his divine glory so that it is made manifest in our lives. When Lazarus was raised from the dead, it revealed the divine nature of Jesus Christ. Today as a part of mediation let us continue meditating on the glory of the Lord.

Miracle of resurrection

John 11:43-44 "And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go."

Over here we see the miracle that Jesus performs which raised Lazarus from death. This miracle is unique when compared to his previous miracles. When Jesus raised Lazarus, he comes from the tomb like he got up from sleep. When people witnessed the miracle, the glory of the Lord was revealed. Even in our lives, we the children of God should also experience the miracle of resurrection. The resurrection here we talk about refers to the spiritual one. Many of us are physically alive but spiritually dead. The plight of the inner man is miserable.This situation of being dead spiritually is like a disorder. This may not be visible as this is associated spiritually. No doctors or psychologists can bring a remedy for this spiritual disorder.

In John 11:11,13-14 'These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.'

Though the disciples of Jesus travelled with him and witnessed his miracles, they still do not understand when Jesus said Lazarus is sleeping. The disciples of Jesus were spiritually inactive at point of time. In John 11:23-24 'Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.'

When Jesus tried explaining about the miracle that he is going to perform, his disciples did not understand. And now Jesus tells that Lazarus will rise again to Martha but she gives a different answer. Martha explains that she knows that Lazarus will rise again at the last day. This shows the spiritual level of hers. In John 11:28 'And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.’When we read the above passage, we can see that Martha lies to Mary that Jesus calls her. Though Martha was close to Jesus that does not prevent her from telling lies. Even we the children of God should take time to discern our acts. Though we do the ministry of God and we do pray for long hours, we should be always very careful when we converse with people. In Genesis 2:17 ‘But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.' This passage tells us the punishment that comes as a reward for disobedience. Talking about deaths, we have two- Spiritual & Physical. In Physical death, the soul departs from the body whereas in Spiritual death, the soul departs from Christ. Let not the spiritual death, cost our lives. Today, let us all make sure that our acts please our Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation 20:6 'Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.'

Revelation 20:13-14 'And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.'

When we read the above passage we can understand that the scripture calls hell as the second death. The second death is the eternal death. We the children of God should never afford to be in the pit of hell. In II Corinthians 5:17 ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.' When we have Jesus in our lives, we will be saved from falling into the fire. The second death will not befall us. We read in Luke 16:22 'And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;' When the beggar died, he flew to heaven and his soul rested in peace. We should understand the fact that Suicidal acts are purely kindled by the works of Satan. And no suicides can help us fly to heaven. When we give our lives for our Lord Jesus we will be given an eternal life by the hands of God. Also, it is highly important that youngsters should submit their lives to our Lord Jesus and that is the only way to achieve all what God has in store for them. Therefore, let us pray to God that we should go through the experience of resurrection and May the Lord almighty bless us and witness his eternal glory.