Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. (John 12:9 NIV)
You have probably heard it said before: Preach Christ. If necessary, use words.
Jesus preached a lot. But his sermons would not have attracted nearly as many people if he did not back up his words with his life. Jesus not only preached. He loved. He had compassion. He fed. He healed. He even resurrected.
The scripture above tells us that the crowd not only came to see Jesus, but also Lazarus. They were curious. They had heard Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. They wanted to see the impact this had on Lazarus' new life. As Christians each one of us has a new life in Christ. And people are curious. Although Jesus has his own power to draw people to him, they want to see for themselves what this does in the believer's life.
I have to wonder what they saw in Lazarus. Did he inspire them to follow Jesus? Or did they walk away not wanting anything to do with following Christ? Did Lazarus welcome them? Or did he push them away because they did worship right, or live right? Did Lazarus help draw them into a closer relationship with Jesus? Or did he send them away to fix their lives first? I suspect he was loving and grace filled and patient and kind and unjudgmental.
Lazarus was living, walking proof of what new life in Christ was all about. And so am I. And so are you. What does each of our lives tell others about being once dead, but now having life and life abundantly?
Lord Jesus,
Help us to always manifest your life-giving power in our lives... day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. May we draw another to you today because of the way our lives preach. Amen.
Joys: A weekend with family; cozy, rainy Sunday afternoon in sweats watching movies with family; Kevin picking up a check for lunch out.
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