Read John 11:11-15
“Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. (v. 14)
Recently, this fifty-two-year-old played football with teens. Early into the game, I caught a pass and ran toward the goal. A teen cut me off, so I tried what would have worked years ago, which is stopping abruptly, cutting to the side and running around everyone. The stopping abruptly part worked, but cutting to the side and running around everyone failed miserably. My brain had been living in a fantasy world of how things used to be.
We drift between two worlds. The first is imaginary — how things “should” be. The second is reality. Some spend so much time in the first that they never realize their potential for the second. In verse 12, the disciples are living in a world of optimism, believing Lazarus is sleeping. In verse 14, Jesus brings them back to reality. Lazarus is dead. It was difficult for the disciples to accept this news, but it set the stage for a great miracle. (DWM)
This devotional is the Tuesday, February 16, 2016 entry of Opening the Word.
