LIFE after life

“There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.” –John 12:2

It is the unfortunate human condition that we seemingly have the inability to place the same amount of emphasis on more than one thing.  I mean, how great would it be to be able to give all your attention to your spouse and you kids at the same time?  Or the kids and the dishes?  More often than not, something is left out or overlooked, not because it is less, but because we can only emphasize so much at once.  The titanic events of the day can dominate the solemnity of a supper table.  The greater moments of conversion overshadow the importance of consistency.

   The man Lazarus is known across the world because of Christ.  Lazarus died, they wrapped his body, and laid it in a grave.  There he lay, four days before Jesus came along and raised him from the dead.  Sometime afterword, they all sat down to eat at Martha’s house and there sat Lazarus at the table; eating with them.  The scripture doesn’t out right say it, but in my opinion (with the exception of Christ’s own resurrection); no miracle marked Jesus’s ministry like the resurrection of Lazarus.  The fame of the miracle spread so fast and the news so board that people were actually coming with the express purpose to see Lazarus.  Physical evidence that this man, Jesus Christ, has the power to give life to the dead, and here sits proof of that.  Now, thousands of years later we understand through the reading of the Word of God that the resurrection of Lazarus is an allegory to what Christ can do for you in a spiritual sense.  He can take a man or women who is dead in their sins and make them alive.  He can give life.  This cannot be overstated and will likely be consistently under appreciated.  On the heels of this truth, and perhaps a minor point when a breast to the life giving power of Jesus; let us also consider that Lazarus sat a supper.  From this short little sentence we can infer a truth that unfortunately, is often overlooked and certainly understated.  That truth is that there is life after LIFE.  Jesus Christ will give you new life, he will raise you from the dead works of sin, but just because that happens; it doesn’t mean that all your troubles will vanish.  If you’re broke before you come to God, then it’s likely you will be broke after you come to him. Your circumstances don’t always change, but what does change is YOU.  You view your circumstances different than before, and you believe that God is in control of your circumstances (this brings peace).  We cannot come to God expecting him to change our circumstances.  We must come expecting and needing him to change us.  In addition to our circumstances, there is day to day life after LIFE.  You get up, go to work, come home, eat, sleep, and do it all over again the next day.  True, Jesus brings a glorious salvation.  It is a monumental event in your life, but at some point, you are going to come down from the spiritual high and sit at the table again.  At some point, the honeymoon is over and you have a marriage to live out.  It is in the mundane we can lose Christ, and in the mundane we can draw nearer to him.  If we are not careful, we can become complacent and get “stuck in a rut.” If we are vigilant, we will find that Christ can bring an ever present peace that passes all understand and we will realize that even in the most commonplace Jesus can bring joy and blessings.

Lazarus had a life after LIFE, and he lived that life but not as he was before.  He was changed forever, and so was his influence.  Granted, we may never be a national sensation because of our salvation through Christ, but you can influence those around you.  Day in and day out you can live a life after LIFE that testifies of the Christ that raised you from the dead.  Even at the supper table, we can testify to His power and holiness.