A timely story of spiritual liberation:
I would like to entitle this brief reflection as “Liberation Day.”
Lazarus, a beloved friend of Jesus had passed away and was laid to rest in a tomb. Lazarus was laying in the tomb dead as a doornail. Not alive truly unequivocally deceased. Everything about him was dead. He wasn’t breathing, his eyes were closed, he wasn’t moving. He wasn’t talking and, Lord have mercy, he didn’t smell very nice, because he had been there for a little while. As a matter of fact he had already been dead for four days. The cultural thought of the day believed that immediately after dying the spirit hovered over the body for while with a chance of it re-entering the body. But, after three days there was no hope of the spirit returning to the body. But Jesus showed up past the three day period after all hope was gone. When he got there he called Lazarus by his name and he spoke just two words, two powerful words “come out.” Now this is important, check out Lazarus’ response. It didn’t take Lazarus a long time to figure out that this would be a good time to start obeying the Word of the Lord. When he heard the Voice of the Lord, the Word of God, it says the dead man came out, he departed from the grip of death, he checked out of death and into life , --he was still wrapped up in the dead man’s clothes, the attire of a dead man, you know linen cloth and wrappings. Jesus said to those standing around take that stuff off of him and let him go!!!! --
Maybe there are some of us listening in today that are wrapped up in some stuff that is robbing us from the fullness of life. Stuff that you need to be liberated from.