Lent Day 33
There’s this old story about Lazarus having to go before the religious rulers. Now we don’t know if it’s a true story or if someone made it up but nonetheless, it speaks to a bigger idea that many of the first century Christians lived by. It goes something like this:
Lazarus was preaching about the death and resurrection of Jesus for salvation when the religious leaders arrest him and bring him before their council. They tell him that he cannot preach about Jesus anymore and must be quiet about what he claims to have seen. He boldly says “no, I will continue to speak boldly about Jesus.” They say we will put you in prison if you continue to speak and he responds with “then I will speak it to the jailers.” Finally, Caiaphas, the High Priest, says, “Lazarus, if you continue to preach about Jesus, we’ll kill you!” Lazarus began to chuckle a little bit and responded. “Kill me, you are going to kill me. I’ve been dead and the one you are charging me to stop preaching about brought me back to life. Death is Dead!”
Imagine going through the rest of your life with no fear of pain or death because you’ve experienced Jesus’ power over it. That’s what Paul is talking about in Romans 8:37-39. He says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
When we think of our lives, we can find hope and power in the knowledge that death is dead. There is nothing that anyone can do to separate us from God’s love. As we continue our Lent season, let us remember that the work done on the cross of Christ sets us free from fear and anxiety over death. But let it also remind us that we can now live lives of radical submission to Jesus.