Come Out - Loose Him and Live

 

Life.  Sometimes I wonder if we really understand what living and life really is.

Let me take a moment and let's travel dusty roads to look back over the paths Jesus walked and the life giving He demonstrated and lived.

As He broke bread and told us to remember this - He gave thanks; all while knowing what He was about to walk through.

He gave thanks before breaking the bread and then it was passed to over 5,000 hungry people.

The kernel of wheat must die before giving birth to more kernels.

Jesus died, giving His life so that we may have life.  These are just a few...

Really.  Paradoxical to my way of thinking.  This is not the way I picture life coming and being given.  But it is the way of Jesus; upside down to we humans who strive after perfect as we were created to be in the beginning.  We plant, not even thinking of the seed that needs to die to produce the flowers and veggies we look forward to enjoying.

Lazarus laid in the grave for four days.  He was stinking by now and bound.  His sisters, Marry and Martha were grieving, after all they sent a message to Jesus to come and the road was empty of the visible presence of Jesus as Lazarus took his last breath.

As Martha met Jesus when He came, her words held the question, the wondering, the disappointment.  The words that followed also held her hope and belief in who Jesus is.

Jesus spoke to her that He is the Resurrection and the Life and she responded with, "Yes, Lord, I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world." John 11:27 (italics added)

Jesus paused at the tomb of Lazarus after he laid there for four days and lifted His eyes toward His Father, and gave thanks.  He gave thanks that He hears.  But first the instructions Jesus gave were to remove the stone and Martha who had just declared to believe Jesus; struggled to understand, declaring that by now there will be a stench!

Jesus reminds her, "Did I not say - to you - if you believe you will see the glory of God?"  As Jesus paused, He looked up and gave thanks.  He gives thanks knowing that His Father hears.  He gave thanks because of what God would do for the benefit of the people.  He wanted them to really know who He is and we learn that through the experience. 

God hears our cries - right at the entrance of our graves.

Broken pieces.  Brokenness given to Jesus gives way to the birthing of life; deep within our souls and that's what matters the most.  It's the fullest healing and sometimes it simply doesn't look like we thought it would.

And that remains a mystery, but one I'm learning to lean into when the next hard comes.  I may be like Martha and still say something practical like 'there will be a stench'; but I'm learning to trust the Giver of Life and the One who gave His life with thanks so that I may have eternal life; the fullness of life.

And so, I stop, look up and give thanks.  Thanks giving is thanks living.

Maybe for you, this season of thanksgiving is brutal.  Maybe life simply doesn't make sense and the road to your house remains 'empty' of the presence of Jesus.  Let's just sit 'together' for a moment and let's remember - He is here.  Jesus knew about Mary and Martha and Lazarus' last breath.  He hasn't forgotten you and like Jesus said, " Let us go..." He will come and He does come.  In your pain He just may not be visible.  That is okay - but I breathe a prayer that you may rise with faith like Martha did; choosing to still believe and some day, give thanks for who He is.

The Origin of Life

 

Life.  To be alive, breathing, spirit, you, living is to have life.

Genesis 2:7 says, Then the Lord God formed man of the dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 1:20 tells us that God created living creatures to swarm in the waters.

Genesis 1:30 says, and to everything that moves on the each which has life, I have given.

Life began at the word of God.  Life started at the mere spoken words that echo through time in the living of the creatures that God created.

But for man, life began when God stooped over and breathed into man His own breath of life and man's chest heaved with the first intake of God's breath.

When Satan slithered into the garden, lying on a branch of a tree and hissed the words to Eve to look at the fruit; He was after God.  Satan knew if he could get Eve to doubt God's goodness and take from the one tree that God said, "No", that the knowledge of evil would kill and destroy life in its purest form, God's breath.  The end result would be in expired breath, death.

But God didn't let us in this state without a way, a way back to life.  That very day He promised a Saviour, a Redeemer, One who would come and save the world; to give life by giving His life.

Although death has entered our world and we now know pain, suffering, and death; God wants to continue to breathe life into our souls.  Among this brokenness we can choose life and Jesus came to give us life and to give it abundantly. John 10:10

Life continues to be found in Jesus.  Life is found as we sit at His feet and inhale His grace, exhaling our expectations.  It's found as we inhale His forgiveness and release, exhaling our mistakes and choosing repentance.  It's found in the letting go and choosing to rest in His provision, His being enough.

Literally, life is found between the exhale and the inhale.  And deep breaths actually calm us down and can help us to regulate when anxiety and fears loom large.

Spiritually and emotionally, life is also found between the exhale and the inhale; the letting go and the receiving.

So today, in whatever state or position you find yourself in; stop, take a deep breath and let it go; receiving the breath of God in exchange.

Choosing God is choosing life.

Living in God's truth is living life abundantly.

Choosing to give thanks is to remember who God is and to add Him into your situation.  Choosing to believe His words of truth leads us to the doorway and on to the path of freedom.

Choosing to live out the truth of God and to believe Him is to find life and to find it to be enough and more than enough.  (Just so you know, it doesn't lessen the validity of what you're walking through it only puts it in its place and allows you to live the miracle of God's upside, miraculous way.)

Choosing God is to choose life.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Deep breaths