John 11:38-57
Luke 17:11-18:8
John 11:39-40,” ‘Roll the stone aside,’ Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, ‘Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?'”
Walt Disney coined the phrase “The Plausible Impossible” to describe the magic of animation: What’s impossible in real life is plausible for animated characters. For example, a giant talking mouse wearing red shorts is plausible in the cartoon world. A duck in a sailor suit is completely believable. In the Christian life, it’s the opposite. We have a God of “The Implausible Possible.” What seems implausible for us is possible for God.
In John 11, the distraught Mary and Martha couldn’t understand why Jesus didn’t come to heal their brother, Lazarus, while he was still alive. So, when Jesus asked to open the tomb, Martha objected in disbelief, “What’s the point? He’s already dead!” It’s almost as if she forgot that Jesus could perform miracles; she couldn’t see past the circumstances with eyes of faith in the all-powerful God! Maybe her first gut reaction was, “Why the insensitivity toward my brother’s memory and no regard for the rest having to smell the stench of bodily decomposition!” This was precisely why Jesus didn’t arrive sooner. He wanted to show that when it seems all is lost is when it’s most important for us to believe that all is possible. That sad, dark day became a day of celebration and a time of gratitude that would soon mean so much more for them in retrospect as it foreshadowed Jesus’ own looming death and resurrection! In fact, it would become the most crucial moment in all of history!
As Christians, we’re here to glorify God. So, for us to live a meaningful, purpose-filled life, it’s contingent on the day Jesus sprang victoriously from the grave, forever defeating death and securing a God-filled eternity for those who believe in God’s “implausible possible” power and call Jesus both Lord and Savior! Now, we can have unfettered confidence that no matter what happens in this life, that one day, we’ll see Jesus face to face in heaven! That’s better than even the most cheerful “happily ever after” in all of Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom combined, hands down!
Remember: there’s nothing God can’t do! Things may not happen in our way or preferred timing, but He always delivers on every promise! Aren’t you glad that you serve a God who can make the most make unfathomable possibilities spring to life?!
Dear Lord, Thank You for making the impossible possible. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, You made a way for me to have life after death. Help me to remember this in moments of doubt and remind me that Your promises are true. In Jesus’ name, Amen.