Becoming Love: If We Start at Finish, Where Do We End? (Part 1)Sample

Day Five: Raising Lazarus

Have you ever lost a loved one?

Imagine this. A good friend calls you. She sounds heartbroken, and her voice is thick with tears. "My brother is sick," she says. "Can you come?"

This was Jesus. His friends Martha and Mary called Him about their sick brother Lazarus, but He deliberately waited. When He finally arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days.

When Jesus saw how sad they were, He was deeply moved. The shortest Bible verse says: "Jesus wept." (v. 35) He didn't just have a plan; He entered their pain and grief, showing that His love was real and that He cared (had empathy).

At the tomb, Jesus then showed His power to give life. He called out, "Lazarus, come out!" And Lazarus was raised from the dead. This miracle gave a foretaste of His own resurrection, where He became God's love for the world.

Jesus' tears showed us what love looks like. By raising Lazarus, He demonstrated love in action. His love is stronger than death—He became the power of God. His love brings new life. And here is the best news: You can bring this new life to other people. It's not through our own strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

In verse 44, Jesus tells them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

We can encourage people in hopeless situations and speak God's truth to them. We get to work with God to make people around us spiritually alive again. What you see in Jesus—His deep, loving care and His power to bring new life—is now in you!

How will you enter into someone else's sadness or difficult situation this week with compassion (empathy), and what specific action will you take to bring the hope of resurrection that you carry to them?

----------------------------------------

We hope you enjoyed Becoming Love (Part 1). This is a four-part series, and we encourage you to continue with Part 2. Search for it in the app and continue to discover how you can move from love as an action to becoming love.