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Jesus - God’s Plan for Glory |
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Written by Ryan Kallem
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Tuesday, 19 January 2010 |
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The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is a well known and amazingly powerful testament to the glory of God. Indeed there are so many wonderful things to be drawn from this account, but the one thing I really focused on in this quiet time is how the raising of Lazarus increases our faith in God—more specifically how God uses difficult and impossible situations to transform our faith. The most important thing that God wants to do in our lives is to increase our faith. To God our faith is more precious than gold and it must be proved genuine (1 Peter 1:3-7). In the story of Lazarus we see just how Jesus works to increase his disciples’ faith and the faith of Lazarus’s family.
In the opening of John 11 Jesus hears that his good friend Lazarus (Lazarus in Hebrew means “God helps”) is very sick and about to die. Word of this is given to Jesus in plenty of time for him to go to Lazarus and heal him, however, Jesus decides to wait, to the confusion of his disciples and the people. Lazarus dies and still Jesus waits a few more days. Why did he do this? Why did he let this happen? Did Jesus truly love Lazarus and his family? This seems to make no sense whatsoever! I’m sure these were the questions circulating through the people’s minds. But Jesus had a plan all along stating that, “This sickness will not end in death. No it is for God’s glory so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Why did Jesus wait for four days after Lazarus died? In ancient times it was believed that when a person dies they remain only ‘partially’ dead until after the third day. On the fourth day they are considered ‘fully’ dead. Prior to this miracle Jesus healed Jarius’s daughter on the same day she died; so the people knew Jesus could raise the ‘partially’ dead, but could he raise the ‘fully’ dead was the question. That question was answered when he commanded Lazarus to come out.
This is how God works to increase and refine our faith. We can be comforted and encouraged to know that God has a plan to glorify himself through our lives. In the broader picture he has made that plan know to us, saving the specifics for later. Here is the four step plan: 1) Delay, 2) Difficulty, 3) Dead-end, 4) Deliverance. We see this plan worked out in the story of Lazarus:
Delay—Jesus waited four days to come to Lazarus.
Difficulty—Jesus wept for Lazarus and comforted his family.
Dead-end—Jesus acknowledged that this could only be done through God.
Deliverance—Jesus raises Lazarus.
Not only do we see this plan through Jesus, but we also see it through great men of faith in the bible such as Moses, Abraham, David, and many others.
For example, with Moses:
Delay—God sends Moses into the desert for 40 years.
Difficulty—Moses had difficultly convincing Pharaoh to release his people.
Dead-end—Moses and his people are blocked by the Red Sea.
Deliverance—God parts the Red Sea and the people move across to the promise land.
Of course this is not the plan for everything we receive from God through faith. Indeed we receive his grace every day, even when we are not faithful (Matt. 5: 45). However, in the larger picture, as disciples of Jesus, our life is not about ourselves, but about bringing glory to God. How do we bring glory to God through our lives?—it is by allowing him to mold us gently and also…un-gently, as through fire. Much like the way impurities in gold must be melted out and brought to the surface, so to God melts out the sinful selfishness and pride in our own hearts, thus refining our faith in him. Through our trials God is preparing us for something much greater—deliverance (1 Peter 1:3-9). See also James 1:2-4. Now to be honest, I do not like to wait. I do not like difficulty, nor do I like dead-ends. My sinful nature wants to desperately fight against these things. What I want to search for is the quick and easy way, the way I feel is right, the path of least resistance. But God works out this plan so that we will not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead (2 Cor. 1:9).
Knowing that God works in this way brings me encouragement to persevere wherever I may be in life, or whatever the situation is. But most importantly, God is still there through it all—whether my faith may be in a delay stage, difficulty, dead-end, or in deliverance. Isaiah 43: 1-5 is an encouraging scripture on perseverance through the challenges of life, stating:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze…Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.”
God’s plan to raise Lazarus through Jesus teaches us how to have faith. It shows us how to glorify God through our lives and it encourages us to know that he is there every step of the way.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 January 2010 )
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