Today’s Reading: John 11:22-27
Hearing God’s Voice for Today:
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’”
* * * * *
Martha had just told Jesus that she believed Lazarus would one day be raised from the dead in the final resurrection. Jesus responded that Lazarus would indeed rise again, for he was the resurrection and the life.
Yes, one day the Lord will launch the final resurrection. And that brings us to this important truth: Resurrection life occurs only through a relationship with Jesus. Whoever believes in him, though he die, he will live. It’s an extraordinary promise.
Believing in Jesus is not mere intellectual assent. It’s much more. When you believe in him, your life is yielded to him and united with his. You are eternally connected. And as he lives his life through you, you can then do all things through him who gives you strength. Jesus is your life.
When you die, your mortal, fading, earthly body will be taken off— like you take off your clothes at the end of the day. Your soul will then be enwrapped in a new, perfect, glorified resurrection body that will never die.
Don’t miss this key “I am” statement from Jesus. He is the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in him will never die. This was another claim to deity. Moses never said this. Mohammed never uttered such words. Nor did the Buddha or Confucius. It’s a unique claim. Only Jesus made it. Only he could do that.
That’s because Jesus was God in human flesh. Those who believe in him will never die.
Jesus asked Martha if she believed this. She said that she believed he was the Christ and the Son of God. She said she believed he was the one “who is coming into the world,” a messianic expression from Psalm 118:26. She believed he was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament Scripture.
Do you believe these things about Jesus? He is your present help in time of trouble. He is your strong tower to whom you can run in times of distress. He is your protective shield who daily defends you against enemy assaults.
If you believe in Jesus, you know that this earthly tent in which you live will be taken down when you die. You will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for you, made by God himself.
And Jesus is your resurrection hope. If you have received him, he has given you the right to become one of his children.3 If you believe in him, you have eternal life. He is your assurance of life after death. He is your conviction that you will be with him in paradise.
To be absent from the body is to be with the Lord. Though you die, you live.
Settle the question of your eternal destination now, and you can live this life to the full.
[from “Hearing the Voice of God” by Pastor David Chadwick, Moments of Hope Church, Charlotte, NC]