Goodbye, Grave Clothes! - Thursday July 16, 2015
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." John 11:44 NIV
I love this verse at the tomb of Lazarus. I imagine that continuing to wear grave clothes would have been very restricting to Lazarus now that he was alive. They served a purpose when he was dead, but he wasn't dead anymore! Self-protective ways and thinking can be like that. If you were a child who grew up in dysfunction, abuse, or neglect, self-protective ways served a purpose for you. However, as adults we don't need those things. Sadly, Satan lies to us, making us believe that we still need those things to be safe. Things like isolation, self-hatred, and false fronts keep us from healthy relationships with other people. Praise Jesus who stands at the healing moments of our lives and says, "Take off the grave clothes and Live!!!"
Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead, and He heals us too. Jesus does an interesting thing, though. He doesn't tell Lazarus to take off his own grave clothes, and Jesus doesn't take them off. Jesus tells the people who love Lazarus, those who had gathered to mourn his death, to take off his grave clothes. Jesus healed Lazarus, but He asked his friends to come alongside him to fully embrace Lazarus in his new life.
We can be people who remove the grave clothes of people who are no longer dead. We do not heal others; only Jesus does that. We bring a loving touch, grace-filled words, and merciful actions. We bring safe, loving relationship, and it is beautiful.
Submitted by:
Kelley Downie
Cedarcreek Community Church
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
One-Year Reading Plan:
1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32
Romans 3:9-31
Psalms 12:1-8
Proverbs 19:13-14
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SCRIPTURE REFERENCB-ES: Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible B) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy, Bible, New International Version, copyright B) 1973, 1978, 1984 by InternaB-tional Bible Society; (NKJV) are from New King James Version B) 1982 by Thomas Nelson; (NLT) are from the New Living Translation, B) 1996, Tyndale House Publishers; (ESV) are from English Standard VersionB., B) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; (TM) are from The Message B) 1993 by NavPress Publishers.