Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life

When life’s trials get to be too much, it only takes the thought of our Lord and Savior to get us back on track. For a Christian, this earthly life isn’t all there is, because one glorious day Jesus will raise us and bestow upon us the glorified bodies He promised (John 11:26). Therefore, every day is a day to rejoice (Philippians 4:4), for we are His and no one can snatch us out of His hands (John 10:28). Romans 10:9 and 1 Corinthians 12:3 both proclaim this truth and 2 Timothy 1:10 states Jesus abolished death. Our lesson? Belief in Jesus means we too are overcomers.

Believers are to grieve with hope

1 Thessalonians 4:13 reminds us that we are not like those with no hope. Our hope is in the Eternal One, the One Who will one day resurrect us to eternal life with Him (John 11:25, Romans 6:5, 1 Corinthians 15:42).

Jesus has compassion for each one of us and calls us by name.

“Lazarus, come forth!” Can you imagine what that was like? Not only to be Lazarus but to witness such a stunning event by the One who is sovereign over death? It has been stated that if Jesus had not called Lazarus by name, and had simply said, “Come out,” every dead soul would have been resurrected!

It’s easy to create the image in our heads of an omnipotent God Who oversees the events of mankind without personal involvement. After all, how could He have time to relate to the day-to-day life of billions of people? Not so with our Lord. The Bible says He loves us, and to love someone is to engage with them. John, the beloved disciple (John 21:20), would have a greater sense of the love displayed by Jesus. We, too, can infuse that amazing love into everything we think, speak, or write of Him. “We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

Jesus does everything for God’s glory. Get in on what He is doing—for His glory.

Romans 14:23 says whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Whoa! In order to glorify God, we must first have faith in Him. We, in the belief of what He has done, is doing, and will do, are privileged to take part in bringing glory to God (Matthew 6:9). Study how Jesus glorified the Lord. Get in on the joy!

Jesus’ wisdom and knowledge superseded those of man.

It seems everyone around Him questioned Jesus’ decision to delay his visit to his sick friend. God’s timing is always perfect, for He is omniscient. Trust the wisdom of Scripture; it’s God’s message to each of us.

Jesus came to have a relationship with everyone, not just the Jews

1 John 2:2 tells us He did. Jesus, in contrast to the Jewish leaders, interacted with all peoples. Because of Jesus and the love He imparts to us, we can share the good news with everyone. We are commanded to meet regularly with our Christian brothers and sisters (Hebrews 10:24–25), and we are commanded to go out into the world (Matthew 28:19-20). In the account of Lazarus, Jesus said, “…everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.”

Jesus is our ultimate teacher

The sisters called Jesus Rabbi (teacher). Once again, imagine being there to sit at His feet. We can do this daily as we read and meditate upon Scripture; our faith grows therein.