Go Forth

“‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe…’ Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ And he who died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Loose him, and let him go.’” John 11:41-44

I never get use to God’s timing when preparing our hearts during tough times. The Lord led me to the tomb of Lazarus this morning to stand alongside the mourners who had lost all hope. I moved a little closer and leaned in to hear what He was telling those whose hearts had been broken by the death of their loved one. I hear Him praying to God thanking Him for the miracle, yet I know that laying behind the stone entrance are unanswered prayers… a life snuffed out…a reason to weep. But then as I am consumed by their pain, Jesus calls out to Lazarus and commands him to rise. Once Lazarus appears bound by his graveclothes and blinded by cloth, Jesus tells them to remove all that binds him and let him go.

Tomorrow many including myself will walk to the stoned entrance of Chris’s burial place. We will hear the words of Jesus no doubt from the pastor. He will lift prayers to God just like Jesus lifted thanking Him for the life of Chris and the plans He has for him. Just like the words of Jesus were for the benefit of the mourners, the pastor’s words will be for our benefit. As we sit in our seats mourning, listening and reflecting, Lazarus’s story will become Chris’s story. We will be told to consider how bound Chris was on earth like we all are, and through the ceremony celebrating his life we will be asked to ‘loosen him.’ We will help remove the graveclothes and in eternal freedom ‘let him go’ with Jesus to his perfect and holy Home.

Jesus understood that the mourners needed to have a part in bringing forth the body from death to resurrection…darkness to Light…the imperfect to the perfect. God knows that we also need to be a part of the process in saying so long for a little while, until we trade in our earthly bodies for our heavenly one. Chris’s blindfold has been removed, and what He is seeing is only what we can imaine for now. But one day, we too will open our eyes to the brilliant Light of God where there is no darkness …no sickness...no tears…no sadness. So, with a sad but confident heart we say to Chris ‘Go forth! Claim your royal position in God’s eternal home.’

"For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.'” 1 Co 15:53-54