Get Out of the Dark

So Jesus then said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him." Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." (John 11:14-16)

These statements reveal some clues about the kind of stumbling that was occurring that Jesus referred to just previous to this. The disciples were walking without the light that would have given them the insights that Jesus had on circumstances. They were also making all sorts of assumptions about Jesus' motives for what He was doing and because of their false premises about His motives they were in darkness and unable to interpret their situations anywhere near correctly.

Jesus addresses some of their likely assumptions in this verse. First of all, He has to change the language He uses to speak in human vernacular instead of heaven's perspective. From heaven's viewpoint death is simply an unconscious sleep, not the despairing, terrifying loss that most people assume it is or even a release into some blissful state where a soul drifts off to another world. The Bible teaches that when a person dies they loss all consciousness of everything until the resurrection; any other belief regarding death is fraught with extreme danger and opens the floodgates to all sorts of deceptions that will blind us to the truth about reality and about God. (see Psalms 6:5; 88:5; Eccls. 9:5, 6, 10)

In Jesus' mind there was little difference between death and what we call sleep except that a person has no bodily life and there is no longer any possibility of dreams, emotions or anything else. Upon being raised back to life in the resurrection a person will instantly take up where they left off upon death and continue their life from there with no change in their character or personality. From God's perspective death is no different than going to sleep overnight and waking up the next morning to be the person you were yesterday. Jesus preferred to speak of death in this manner to avoid the confusion that Satan's lies starting in Genesis 3:4 have caused about this subject. But the disciples did not understand this perspective very well and had very different ideas and feelings about death.

They also had mistaken notions about just what motivated Jesus to stay away from Judea after hearing the desperate pleas of His friends to come heal Lazarus. During the two days that He remained where He was the disciples had time to formulate even more conclusions which were based on false ideas about what motivated Jesus. They still could not perceive the depth of unselfish love that filled the heart of Jesus even though evidence abounded in everything He did and said. They were so immersed in the survival thinking of humanity that it was nearly impossible to imagine someone living without seeking at least part of the time to look out for their own safety above caring for others.

Given these natural assumptions about how to live in relation to danger and threats, the disciples likely came to the conclusion (without checking with Jesus) that this time He had most likely chosen to place His own safety ahead of the needs of His friends in the situation of Lazarus. In their minds the disciples could easily see how a person might rationalize and weigh the desire to help His friends against the need to keep His own life preserved from the threats of the Jews and had decided it was better to remain away even if it caused pain and suffering to some of His best friends. With that scenario running in the background and their inernal assumptions about why Jesus refused to return to Judea, they were stumbling all over the place while oblivious to the fact they were doing so. They assumed that at least this time Jesus was acting more 'normal' like they would do if they were living under the threat of bodily harm as He was.

Jesus realized all of this was taking place in their minds and how they were maybe even feeling a little justified in their own habits of looking out for themselves at the expense of others. But despite all their false assumptions about Him, Jesus did not immediately clear up their ideas or conclusions but simply followed the daily prompting of the Spirit and continued to minister to people and attract them to a better view of God. In every situation no matter how exciting or threatening Jesus always acted like Himself and never allowed circumstances to dictate who He was or how He would respond. Even when it was time to return to Judea He still only gave His disciples enough information to get them to return with Him, but contained in His words were enough truth that if they had been more discerning they could have seen how dark their perceptions of God really were and how wrong they were about Jesus.

In His answer to them in this verse, Jesus exposes their assumption that He was looking out more for Himself and His own safety even more than theirs by stating clearly that it was for their sakes and not for His that He was doing things so strangely. It was not because He was motivated by fear of the Jews or self-preservation or any other selfish motives; it was for the good of His disciples, His friends back in Judea and indeed for all of us that He was doing everything the way He did. Rather than living in fear for His life, Jesus said that He was actually glad that He had not been there to heal Lazarus. Living in heaven's light Jesus had the perspective that allowed Him to get excited about what God was up to when everything looked bleak and hopeless and dangerous to nearly everyone else around Him. Jesus was walking in the light and so He had no reason to stumble into discouragement or fear.

But the disciples were stumbling over nearly everything Jesus was saying to them, misinterpreting His language and His motives at almost every step. This was because they were not embracing the light of truth about reality even though the ultimate Source of light was right in their midst in the flesh. Having light that gives us proper perspective on our situation does not depend on our proximity to others who have the light so much as our willingness to humble ourselves and allow the Spirit to lead and teach us the same way He led and taught Jesus. Only as we are willing to let go of our preconceived ideas about reality and especially about God and let the Spirit and the Word introduce us to a radical new vision of truth can we begin to avoid stumbling over nearly everything God says or does in our lives.

Negative thinking is a clear indication of living in the dark where a person is liable to stumble. Thomas exemplified this kind of thinking in his statement about marching off to their death with Jesus and very likely he reflected the disposition of all the disciples. After all, their fate as loyal followers and disciples of Jesus tied their reputations very closely with His, so if Jesus was in danger they would most likely come under threat as well. Because the disciples were operating with so many false premises their conclusions inevitably came out wrong. They assumed the worst and failed to perceive by the Spirit that even though there were very real dangers facing them back in Judea, God was far greater and had much more glorious things planned than they were willing to give Him credit for at this point in their lives.

The contrast between the disposition of the disciples and their assumptions about reality compared to that of Jesus is quite striking in this story. They were so filled with false ideas about what motivated Jesus and what God was like that they were filled with unbelief in the goodness and power of God. Jesus knew this, but rather than chiding them He was patient with them and looked forward with keen anticipation to what He knew would radically challenge their view of what was true, what was real and how God felt about all of them. Jesus knew that one of the most important signs of His divinity was about to break upon the world and He was keen to have that event impact their perceptions of who He really was and why He was not afraid to walk into danger.

These men like us needed to have a much greater appreciation and perspective of the selfless love and compassion of Jesus. They needed to see that Jesus did nothing to look out for His own needs at the expense of others but had come to pour out His life in loving service to bless everyone who would be willing to receive. Jesus came to demonstrate the true principles of heaven, the reality of another way of living and inter-relating reflective of the true principles of reality the way God originally created it.

Rather than living life motivated by fear and self-preservation at the expense of those around us, Jesus demonstrated that to have real life and to thrive in God's family one must come into harmony with the life-giving principles God created us to live under. We must receive to give, not to indulge and hoard. We must trust the heart of our heavenly Father who promises to provide for us in every situation which is the opposite of fear. We have not been given the spirit of fear, but of love and power and a sound mind. (1 Tim. 1:7)

Anytime I find myself stumbling in situations or reacting to how people treat me or find myself living in fear, I am reminded that I need more light inside of me to illuminate true reality. Instead of focusing on what makes me afraid or angry or any other negative feeling, I need to turn away from those things that keep me in darkness and focus on the real truth about God as displayed in the example and words of Jesus. The more I focus on Him and absorb the lessons He came to teach like what I see in this story, the more I am able to see obstacles that trip me and cause me to stumble. Then, living in the light of the real truth about reality and God's leading in my life, I will have nothing to be afraid of for I know that Jesus has given His word to always be with me and never leave me alone. If He is with me and He cares deeply for me far more than anyone else could ever hope to do, then I can choose to trust His heart and His power to lead me for my best good and for His glory.

If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7)

Father, help me to learn better the lessons these disciples took so long to learn. Help me to more deeply appreciate Your Spirit's leading even when it apparently seems to lead directly into trouble. Help me to always remain aware that You are with me, that Your angels are ever-present to protect, to prompt me, to bless me and make me a channel of blessings even in the midst of chaos and strife. Fill my heart with hope and joy and love and a secure sense of identity so that others can see Your light shining more clearly in their darkness and want to experience that same light inside their own souls.

Twelve Hours in a Day

Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world." (John 11:9)

As I was discussing this with one of my daughters a few days ago and pondering with her over the possible meaning of this, she shared a thought that helped me begin to better understand something about the twelve hours. This morning I again began thinking about what possibilities might be contained in this phrase.

What are hours anyway? They are artificial increments or divisions of time into equal parts for the sake of organizing our lives. If we lived without any time divisions or units we would simply have daytime and nighttime and no more. But humans have come up with a system of dividing daily time into set increments for the purpose of scheduling ourselves in order to better plan and utilize our time efficiently.

It seems to me that possibly Jesus may have been referring to this idea of having a schedule when He mentioned that there are twelve hours in a day. He may have been reminding His disciples that what was most important was not to focus on potential threats from others but to remain always cognizant of the Father's timetable and schedule for our lives. Threats of harm or disasters usually disrupt our schedules and introduce chaos into our lives diverting us from the normal business of living life in a structured way. God is not the author of confusion but operates within very precise principles and on an irrevocable schedule, albeit beyond our comprehension.

Jesus chose to live daily according to God's schedule rather than allowing the attempts of others to intimidate Him to bring chaos into His life or divert Him from the plans of His Father for His life. The temptation was always there to become distracted from the plans of His Father for that day, but Jesus constantly resisted those diversions and therefore always lived in the light of day because He kept everything in the perspective of His Father's light. Because of this He never stumbled.

By referring to twelve hours in a day, Jesus was in essence using shorthand to refer to this idea of staying organized within the Father's will. That does not mean that everything we plan as a Christian is going to pan out just as we intend for it to, but it does mean that we should not live a life of chaos and disorganization and think that this is the life of faith. Jesus daily connected with His Father each morning to synchronize His timetable with His Father's and to receive needed instructions, inspiration, peace and grace that He would need for that day. He laid all of His own personal plans at the feet of His Father and always deferred to His Father's intentions for Him.

Even though from our perspective it seems that Jesus' life was often interrupted while He was doing things, in actuality those interruptions were actually part of God's plans for Him and were already in His schedule for that day. Because Jesus kept His spirit in tune with His Father's Spirit He was never flustered or annoyed when sudden 'surprises' arose. He took everything in stride and was always ready to dispense grace, wisdom, healing and love wherever His Father's plans led Him. He always stayed right on schedule no matter how dangerous things appeared to be. He never allowed threats or enticements to divert Him from the schedule of His Father for His life.

A twelve hour day implies that we can live a life of following God's schedule for us too. Jesus was our example and if we choose to synchronize our lives with God's plans for us as Jesus did, we too can experience living in the light even as He was in the light and will find freedom from stumbling over the threats or enticements of the enemy. The reason Jesus brought this up at this point in the story is because the disciples were allowing fear of the enemy's threats to become a point of stumbling for them. They were failing to discern the schedule of God both for Jesus and for their own lives. Jesus was reminding them that there is nothing to fear for the future as long as we remain in cooperation with God's schedule for us, trusting His heart to lead us and arrange all the circumstances of our lives.

It is when we allow circumstances, threats or temptations to distract us from staying in step with God's schedule for us that we find ourselves in the dark stumbling around and tripping over things. When we do find ourselves stumbling it should be an alert for us that we have gotten off schedule, that we have taken our eyes off the light and have allowed something to eclipse the Light that is supposed to be living inside of us, guiding us and keeping us on schedule.

God's plans for us each day are not just vague and generic. He knows everything in detail that is going to happen in our life each day ahead of time and is ready to provide us with everything we need to meet each situation. However, that does not mean that He is going to reveal to us the details of what will happen each day. He may or may not share with us what is going to transpire that day, but that is not necessary in order to trust His heart or stay in step with His schedule for us. He does not hand us a to-do list each day for us to check off like an impersonal boss might do; God wants to have us allow Him to live from the inside by means of His Spirit and let Him be the timing signal for us rather than depending on foreknowledge of where our lives will take us. This is the true life of faith.

So what I am seeing more clearly now is that this reference to twelve hours in a day is Jesus' way of saying to me that I need to stay focused and connected with His Spirit so that His plans for me may make my life immune to the varied attempts by the enemy to keep me in fear and chaos. I must be willing to allow God to bring organization into my day and to train me to make plans the best I can but then surrender those plans to be carried out or given up as His providence indicates throughout the day.

One more thought that came to me about Jesus' reference to twelve hours in a day that may or may not be relevant. Jesus was speaking to twelve men who were then His disciples who were alarmed at His plans to return to very dangerous territory according to their perceptions. He was saying to them that He and His Father would never ignore them from being too busy. It has been said that it would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day contemplating the life of Christ. Jesus could have been saying here that He could always spend a full hour of undivided attention with each disciple every day of their life if they chose to take that time to spend it with Him. There was enough time in every day for everyone of them to connect with Jesus and receive the grace and peace they needed so they would not be afraid of things that sought to distract their attention from Him.

If I am willing to carve out at least an hour each day to focus on listening to Jesus and connecting with His heart, receiving His Spirit and disposition into my life, I too may enjoy living life in the same perspective and attitude Jesus had. I need not fear what others fear because my life is not controlled by the tyranny of the urgent or the intimidations of terror. I can live above the pettiness and shallowness of this world with different priorities and can live a life right on schedule in synchronization with God's plans even when appearances seem to indicate otherwise. I can have peace in the midst of apparent chaos in my life because my walk is timed to the sound of a different cadence from a more secure source of reality.

Getting Saved

The disciples then said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." (John 11:12)

I found some interesting confirmation when I looked up this word 'recover' in the original. It is the same word that is often translated 'saved' throughout the New Testament. All of the following verses and many more use this same word.

Mt 1:21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

Mt 9:21 for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will get well."

Mt 18:11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

Mt 19:25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?"

Mt 24:13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

Mr 5:23 and implored Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live."

Mr 16:16 He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.

Lu 8:12 Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.

Lu 9:24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.

Lu 19:10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Lu 23:35 And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One."

Joh 3:17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Joh 12:27 ¶ Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

Joh 12:47 "If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

Ac 2:21 and it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Ac 2:47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Ac 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.

What this confirms for me is the fact that the term 'saved' has far more to do with restoring, healing, returning to original condition rather than the narrow modern notion of getting into heaven. The way people today use the term 'getting saved' has largely distorted the original meaning of the word and has also stripped it of the far greater significance of the kind of life-transformation that God intends for all of us to experience in salvation.

I think it is clear that the disciples did not have in mind that if Lazarus had fallen asleep the way we think of sleep, that this was good indication that he would be 'saved in heaven'. They were obviously thinking about the fact that when a sick person falls into a good sleep it usually indicates that the sickness is leaving them and they are on the mend to recovery.

But rather than this being a completely different application of the word, the Bible uses this word interchangeably with statements related to salvation because it is a perfect example of what God wants to do in our lives right now, not just sometime in the future somewhere else. God not only wants to heal our bodies as is made clear many times by the use of this word in the stories of Jesus, but far more He wants to heal our souls and restore us into harmonious fellowship with Himself and each other so that we can be safe to bring to His home to live with Him in much closer proximity.