“Do you believe this?”
“I am the resurrection and the life,” said Jesus to Martha. “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26). An odd thing to say, especially at the funeral of a close friend. Besides, Lazarus is already dead… entombed… his vacated corpse is beginning to smell! (v. 39). Still Jesus speaks confidently. He knows what He is about… the gift He offers. He seeks the same confident commitment from Martha. He looks deep into her grief-stricken eyes and asks, “Do you believe this?” (v. 26).
This is a very serious question; it is a question Jesus asks of every one of us. “Do you believe?”
Yesterday we considered Don Longworth’s question, “Is Jesus worthy?” Is He in your personal estimation worthy of surrendering to Him everything—your reputation?… your physical well-being?… your financial security?… worthy of suffering persecution?… worthy of all your time and energy?… worthy of even your life?
We will all come to this moment of decision: of whether we deem Him worthy… whether we trust Him to be and to do as He claims… whether to have faith, or courage to ask Him to bring us to such faith, to believe Him enough to entrust to Him our life and our death?
“I am the resurrection and the life…
Do you believe this?”
This is your most personal decision. It matters not what the opinion of the masses may be, what your best friends may think. This question is for this moment and is asked of you. One day you will die. You will die for self, a mere dash between dates on your tombstone as your legacy, and with nothing to bring into eternity. Or you may die for Christ, with great treasure stored up in heaven, receiving “a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Pet. 1:11).
It all hinges on this: Do you believe? Do you trust Christ enough to entrust Him with everything? How worthy of this is He to you?
More tomorrow…
To hear Don Longworth’s Sunday message, go to the Facebook page of Lincoln Baptist Church, or link to the livestream from the church website.
thebrokenrunner 