Living as A Target

Scripture Verses that caught my attention today: John 12:9-11 When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, 11 since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.

Observation: Lazarus was really in a tight spot. He was given a second chance at life only to become a target not of illness, but of spite. It was a crazy situation.

Application: There are situations that simply defy rationality. I’m sure that Lazarus, like all other human beings, had his own share of faults. Yet the only cause for which he was a target of the chief priests was is willingness to do what Jesus said—come out from the tomb alive after having died. Such was the world of Jesus’ day.

Yesterday I was at a satellite location for Willow Creek’s Global Leadership Summit. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was one of the speakers. She indicated that the nature of political life in Washington is—surprise, surprise—not exactly prone to public displays of support and solidarity. Many a political leader becomes a victim of circumstance.

We don’t know whether Lazarus was any kind of a political leader, but he did become a political pawn—a target of the opposition party. It would be interesting to know what his second life was like for him in light of that reality. How did it feel to rise again only to live with the threat of another demise, this time from without rather than from within?

Someday I hope to ask him such things.

Prayer: Lord, in some ways we all get another chance at life. In some ways each new day is such an opportunity as we put the previous day to rest and rise again. Sometimes we must live with the consequences of our own actions. Other times we are the collateral damage of someone else’s intentional or unintentional strides. In all cases help us demonstrate our trust in your ability to raise us up again, whether in this life or simply in the life to come.

(readings today included: Jeremiah 5-6 and John 12)