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Missing the Holy…..

Key Verse John 11: 46

Lazarus had just been raised from the dead. Celebration is an understatement. You could hear the screams and cheers and worship six villages away. In that moment many people gave their hearts to Jesus right there. I mean wouldn’t that be enough? Yet there were a few that this moment impacted, but not as you would think. I wonder if they even uttered a sound. At least there.

Why? Because the power Jesus possessed threatened them and their rules. That kind of power will always be either threatening or liberating, depending on the state of our hearts. They ran to the Pharisees to announce what Jesus had just done. These informers knew what the Pharisees would do with the information. The Pharisees were never recognized for their subtlety. Yet, it is not the actions of the Pharisees or Caiaphas that follows that leaves me stuck. I am stuck here. I am stuck at a person’s ability to see the manifest power of something as great as Lazarus being raised from the dead and yet not see the holy in it.

And this is where I find my own heart in its struggle. How many times have I missed the holiness of God? How many times, in the things that surround me, the beauty of nature, the child’s baptism, the kind word of my husband, the nearness of a friend, the hurting world that surrounds me calling for the Jesus in me, has my heart missed the holiness of such moments.

And missing it can be for so many reasons. My prejudices. My skepticism. My doubt. My pride. My disconnect. My distraction.

Of all the players on this stage in this moment of history, the saddest to me are these. The Pharisees were what they were. Caiphas, the high priest was so clueless that he had even been used by God with the words that came out of his mouth and he didn’t know it. But these people saw the miracle. They watched a man who had been dead for three days walk out of a tomb without a stench on him. And yet, something in their hearts was so hardened, so wrecked that they not only missed the holy, they accused the Healer.

Oh, what an enemy we have. To think that he can shut our hearts down to such degrees that not only can we miss the holy moments of life, but then we can accuse the Healer of not doing it right. Of getting it wrong. Of threatening something that matters to us. Of not performing according to our picture or the way we thought our life should unfold.

I have seen often in life’s Holy moments, that they can be celebrated by everyone in the room, yet there are one or two who don’t only miss the holy moment, but find it abase in some way. See it as a set-up, a missed opportunity, dare I say something as unholy. That either God got it wrong, or everyone else in the room did. Would they rather Lazarus stay in the grave? Would they rather Mary and Martha continue to grieve? Would they rather Jesus hold back His plan and purpose to fulfill their arrogance? Their arrogance that only they get it right? That they have the sole reign on what is of God and what isn’t.

I mean look who they took their accusation of Jesus to. They took it to the Pharisee. A group so attached to the spirit of the law that they missed the Fulfillment of the law when He stood in front of them.

Rules are good. The Ten Commandments are a gift. But without the love of Jesus we miss the beauty of His holiness. There are many people who never miss a tithe check, who never miss a Sunday School class, who wouldn’t think of missing a Sunday service, but who have missed Jesus time and time again. Why? Because their hearts have believed the lie that God wants us to get it right. And if this were true there would have never been a need for Jesus. Jesus came because God knew how exceptionally wrong we would get it. Time and time and time again. So, if this is our belief, and it is based in a lie from the enemy, then the measure of what is “right” is a measure we created. And no one, not even us, will ever be able to live up to our own standards.

So, in this season, as we greet summer, as we head off to mountains, or beaches, as we watch our children ride bikes and hear their laughter, as we take a respite from the distractions of this world, may we not miss the holy moments Jesus offers. May we surrender our pride. Surrender our pictures. Surrender our desire to get it right and discover that He died because we are incapable of ever being right enough. Somewhere a Lazarus is being raised. May we rejoice in it. Loudly.

Questions for pondering…

1- When is the last time you saw something that God had done that should have taken your breath away?

2- What was your response?

3- Do you have a picture of what your life needs to look like? Of how God should move? What would it be?

4- Are you willing to surrender your picture for His? Your way for His? Your thoughts for His thoughts?  What would surrendering those things look like?

 

Denise Jones Reclaiming Hearts

Hi, I’m Denise!

I love Jesus, my family and friends, my sweet dog Sophie, SEC football and Coca-Cola.