Livin’ Forever Starts Right Now
Well now, Buttercup, you come on and git yourself right up here on this here front porch and be ‘a-tryin not to be steppin’ on that there ol’ armadillo ‘a-rootin’ ‘round in my flowerbed like he done pays rent for the privilege. You be ‘a-sittin’ yourself down right over here in this here chair for a lil’ ol’ spell ‘cause I done got somethin’ on my heart that has been ‘a-thumpin’ louder than a woodpecker ‘a-drillin’ on a tin roof. It’s this here truth from John 11:25-26 where Jesus done says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Now that right there will make even a sleepy ol’ possum be ‘a-sittin’ up real straight.
You might be ‘a-rememberin’ this here story now. Why, ol’ Lazarus, he was done deader than last year’s Christmas tree, an’ Mary and Martha were ‘a-grievin’ like a pair of mama hens who done lost their baby chicks. They sent word to Jesus, ‘a-hopin’ He’d come ‘a-runnin’. But, doggone it, Jesus waited. And waited a while. And he done waited some more. By the time He done showed up, Martha met Him with the kind of honesty only a Southern woman can muster. “Lord, if only You’d been here…” In other words, “Jesus, You are jes’ too late.”
But Jesus, why, He done looked at her square into the soul and said, “Martha, death ain’t the end. I am the resurrection. I am the life.” He was ‘a-speakin’ of somethin’ far bigger than ‘a-raisin’ Lazarus for a few more earthly years. Lazarus would be ‘a-havin’ to be dyin’ again someday, bless his heart. Jesus was talkin’ about that there forever kind of life. The kind that done outlasts funerals, tombstones, and every ache in these here earthly bodies that creak louder than an ol’ barn door.
John 11:33 says,” Jesus wept and even got angry.” Not at the people but at death itself. “Cause death was never God’s plan. Sickness, sorrow, and bodies ‘a-wearin’ out like cheap boots were never meant to be any part o’ our story. So, Jesus done marched right on into death, tore it apart from the inside, and then, He done walked out victorious. He became the “firstfruits,” the One who done went ahead, so we wouldn’t have to be fearin’ what comes next.
And because He lives, Butterbean, we can face our own final breath without any kind o’ tremblin’ like a nervous lil’ ol’ goat. Eternal life ain’t just a someday promise. It’s a right-now hope that steadies our steps and sweetens our days.
Father, thank You for bein’ the resurrection and the life. Help me be ‘a-livin’ with Heaven in my heart and courage in my bones. Be remindin’ me daily that death is defeated and eternal life is mine because of You. In Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Well, mercy me, Junebug, that there oughta’ be a’-meltin’ and ‘a-slidin’ down real deep into your soul like warm molasses on a hot, buttered biscuit. Now go on out there and be ‘a-livin’ like somebody who done knows death has already been told to sit down and hush up ‘cause Jesus done conquered death! Amen!
With joy,
Gwen
