Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 NET)
This was the topic of our study Wednesday night as we have been going through the seven “I Ams” of Jesus in the book of John. Though Jesus was referring to His own resurrection coming up, He was also talking about something more. Though He was referring to the resurrection of all believers who will spend eternity in heaven, He was still talking about something more. He wasn’t speaking only of resurrections that were going to happen, He was talking about who He was. He said, I AM the resurrection. I AM the life!
When we live in Him and believe in Him, the life and resurrection power that is part of who He is, also become a part of who we are. What was once dead in us, can be brought to life against all odds, because the Resurrection and the Life, dwells inside of us. For those who have spiritual eyes and ears, this is mind-blowing. This knowledge could transform you right now as you read this, if you have an open heart to receive what God is telling you through this passage.
Think about areas of your life that you have accepted as dead and gone, areas that could have been great blessings, but have turned dry. What relationships have become bitter, perhaps because of your own mistakes, or because circumstances overwhelmed you? What standard of living have you given in to because you see no way of rising above it? What if you’ve tried your hardest to extract yourself from a painful situation and nothing worked, and have assumed that God wanted you to suffer the shame of that failure in silence? Perhaps your image of God has been distorted and does not line up with what Jesus is saying here. If He dwells in you, resurrection power dwells in you. What is dead can and should come to life.
There’s an old thought that if God wanted to resurrect aspects of your life, He would have done it already. You’re right – and He did it already, 2000 years ago. He died and rose again to purchase your authority over all evil, and over all oppression. But resurrection will only be seen when your faith causes you to live in the reality of Jesus’ promises. You have a choice to be complacent and to accept the dead and fruitless areas of your life as unchangeable. Or you have the choice to let your faith rise to that audacious level of believing that the dead will come back to life. If He is the resurrection and the life, and if you live and believe in Him, then that power lives inside of you. You are the one who needs to tap into that power by determining that His Word will come true in your life. That pleases God more than any song of praise you could sing. Living out His promises draws you closer and closer to Him. But the question that Jesus asks here still remains. Do you believe?
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