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Seeking the perspective of Jesus

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11: 25-26 NIV

In this passage, Jesus mentions dying and living twice. As I read it, as is most of the time, I try to get into the human drama of the passage. However, I have also come to understand that there is a lot of hidden treasure to be mined out of God’s word if I’ll take the time to meditate on His words and pray through them. Such was the case this morning as I asked the Lord, “Why mention living and dying twice? Were You being redundant in order to make a point that would be remembered, or were You saying something more?” Although most of us believe that He was obviously speaking of our own resurrection and eternal life that will follow, I think there is also a hidden truth about Lordship and dying to self-being given to us. Will you allow me to make a case for this?

Two deaths (physical and spiritual) - Two lives (physical and spiritual)

From a spiritual point of view, we can be alive physically but dead spiritually. Look around you in your world, and you will see evidence of this. The fact is without Christ in our life, we are all “Dead men walking” even though we are alive and well physically. If Christ is not in our life, then we have no Rescuer, and as Paul said in Romans 6:23, our spiritual death awaits us. “For the wages of sin is death.” Since we are all sinners, without Christ, we are all dead, spiritually speaking. Our state would be similar to the term used in the movie The Green Mile for men on death row: "Dead man walking.” We could also say, “Good as dead.”

There is also another form of death, but this is a good one and leads to an exciting spiritual life. The Apostle Paul said that he had been “crucified with Christ”, and he no longer lived, but Christ lived in him (Galatians 2:20). Paul hadn’t gone through the agony of a physical crucifixion and death. That was not what he was saying. He was using the analogy to illustrate another kind of death. He was speaking of the “spiritual death” that he would have had without Christ. Paul was saying that his sins had been crucified with Christ’s crucifixion, and the consequence of his sins had been removed from him. Because of Christ’s death, he was now alive spiritually. But, he was also speaking about the death of his rights over himself, as he no longer was alive for himself but for the purpose of Christ. He had “died to himself,” and as a result, he was alive as never before. There is a mysterious, miraculous transformation that occurs in a life that has been entrusted to Christ in such a way. Death to ourselves, fully entrusting our life to Christ, shows us how to really live.

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Corinthians 5: 14-15 NIV

We are all well aware of our mortal lives and have but one. But, there are different views of one living his life. There are some people who believe that the totality of life, whether it is physical or spiritual, is started at birth and concluded at death. Thus the philosophy, “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow there shall be none,” has been birthed. There are those who have been raised in different cultures and have a skewed view of life based on that culture. The life they hope to have after death is based on good works or the luck (Karma) they have gained in this mortal life. Both the atheist and the devout follower of false religions would agree that if a good life is desired now or later, it better be secured in this lifetime or not at all. But Jesus spoke of a death that leads to life, which smacks in the face of these other religions. He was not referring to our physical bodies at this point but rather our spiritual lives being born within us. He was talking about a life we experience here and now in our mortal bodies, alive with joy, enthusiasm, and purpose. He was talking about a life that is exchanged from old to new, even while we still walk around in these decaying bodies. He spoke of a life that begins in this mortal life but will continue into eternity. He was talking about security, freedom, and the significant role we can play while still in these mortal bodies. This is the kind of life we are invited to in this lifetime if we will only surrender to His Lordship by dying to self.

Personal Abandonment and Absolute Trust

Forgive my redundancy, but it is always good to make clear the depth of the above statement, which is at the heart of Influencers. In this statement, we see both spiritual death and spiritual life. When we abandon our rights to ourselves, we are essentially making a life statement similar to Paul’s in that we have been crucified with Christ and the old man is no longer here. When we trust absolutely in Christ, we, in fact, become spiritually alive in Christ as never before. This new life in Christ is unshackled from sin and unburdened from a performance-driven philosophy of good works in order to gain eternity. We are made alive in His grace, and we are made alive for His purpose. In fact, for those of us who have ventured through those doors of Abandonment and Trust into the Inner Chamber of intimacy with Christ, we will tell you that we have never been so alive! But, it did not come without death. It is not the physical death that we all must face one day and not the spiritual death that comes as a result of sins. It is the death of sin’s wages and our rights to ourselves.

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot

I have discovered that there is a question that begins early in life and follows us all the way to the end of it. It is, “What happens now?” As children, we ask questions about education. As young adults, we ask questions about a job, a spouse, or about children. As older adults, we ask this question about retirement. But, the question is never more poignant than when it is asked at the end of our life. Therefore, I have concluded that the most important question we will ever ask and need to answer is, “What happens to me after I die?” I believe that if that answer is not firmly answered and settled, we can never live life fully as God has created it. There will always be the agony of knowing we are unprepared for the inevitable final exam. One cannot fully live his life with this hanging over him. But, if we have firmly answered that question and then take the next step in dying to ourselves, then we are given every motivation and every resource for living our life as God created it. Therefore, what is the deeper truth that I think Jesus was teaching in the above passage? I think it is this:

“There is a life that leads to death and a death that leads to life. One life has no future and the other has no end. I have two lives to live and two deaths to follow. I must choose wisely, for what I choose I will have for eternity.”