The Lazarus Experiment - Day Nine

Oh goodness this stuff is oh so good!! Ron's Day Nine Explanation:

Let's say Lazarus started a diary.

Day One. Hello Diary. Today, Jesus called me out of that hole! After I got unwrapped, I went around to everyone gathered for my funeral and hugged them. Lots of good food and good friends. We danced, partied, and generally had a great time until about 3:00 a.m. I'm still wide awake and ready for more! Can't wait until tomorrow!

Day Two. Dear Diary: I love being alive! Today I was itching to get out of the house! Me, Mary and Martha, and a small group of friends took a long hike with a picnic around Gallilee. (Peter could barely stand not being able to cast a net!). After we got back I dug up about a half acre of dirt in the backyard. I'm going to put in a garden!

Day Three. Dear Diary: Went sightseeing in Jerusalem - preparing for the festival. Jesus has plans to head down there - not sure that's a great idea. Worked all day doing errands for him, just to make sure he'll be safe. Haven't been to the city for a long time. Whew! Glad I went, but I'll sleep good tonight.
Day Four. Dear Diary: Decided to get up early and exercise an hour. Got to get this dead old body in shape! Don't want to die (again!) too soon! Had to finally get some work done, since somebody has to pay the bills now that I'm around. (My life insurance company decided to rescind the settlement!)

Day Five. Dear Diary: A couple friends decided to pay me a visit and we went hunting. The old bow still performed amazing - I can take out an antelope from 50 yards out! Felt more alive than ever. But I need to sleep.

Day Six. Dear Diary. What a day! The air was crisp and cool, and it just demanded that I get some work done. So I finally went down to the crypt to clean things out. Scrubbed the walls with vinegar (oh man - the smell I left in there!) and cleaned up some of the spices and stuff that were left around. (Not sure that method works all that well!). Gotta get the place ready, just in case, I guess. My arms feel like they're going to drop off.

You get the picture.

Lazarus, I'm sure, was eager to live life. But somewhere during the first week or two, life reached up and smacked him around. His energy drained. His feet got sore. His back was stiff. It was time to rest.

At some point, Lazarus realized his new body still needed respite care. After several days of pushing it - testing the very edges of the endurance of his new life - I think Lazarus crashed.

At some point, our Experiment needs to factor in some rest. Some of you have already written about naps. That's great. But maybe a whole day of Sabbath is in order.

Since I'm a pastor, Sundays are not ideal for any kind of Sabbath-keeping. I sometimes have to force myself away from work and busyness to get quiet rest. It is not easy to do.

Lazarus would have realized, as we all must, that there will always - ALWAYS - be something on your to-do list that is urgent, necessary, and vital to your well-being and the happiness of those around you. But he also realized that, in order to give life his very best, he needed rest.

After the first week, Laz may have put his to-do list on hold, recognizing that life is too short to burn it out all at once. It is true for you, too. New life in Christ is amazing! But he knows we need to stop for a season.

Rest, friend.

Suggested Scripture For Today: Matthew 11:25-30

Suggested Ideas:
Schedule a day, soon, and attempt to accomplish nothing.
Take a day off from The Lazarus Experiment.
Turn off all electronic devises for one 24 hour period. No TV. No computer. No cell phone. No radio. No video games. Go tech-cold-turkey.
Spend half a day with God alone. Take only a Bible, a pen/pencil, a notebook. Get as far away from other people as you can. Make it your goal not to see another person except God for at least four hours.


Question of the Day: What would Lazarus have done with Jesus after being brought back from death? Would his feelings about Jesus have changed? How? And what would he have determined about Jesus from that point on?


I am so heartbroken at some of the junk you all are going through. But I'm thanking God that, for right now, you're here and we're together in this. Be sure and pray for one another as we move into the second week of The Lazarus Experiment.

Ron



My Day nine response:

I rested!! I prayed for so many for so many reasons, but today I took time for me. I was quiet and calm and spent the majority of the day with just me. It was so good...