God Does What We Cannot Do

-- John 11.41-44

In John 11, the brother of Mary and Martha, Lazarus, had died. Jesus came to raise Lazarus from the dead. When He did, some inside the crowd moved away the stone. Jesus called out for Lazarus to exit the tomb. When he did, he was wrapped in burial clothes. Jesus told the witnesses to unbind him. Surely Jesus could have commanded the stone to be moved, commanded Lazarus to be lifted out of the tomb, and spoken words to remove the burial clothes from Lazarus. But, they could move the stone, Lazarus could get out of the tomb, and they could remove the burial clothes. Jesus did what they could not do – give a dead body life.

What does this mean for us? God, through Jesus, made us the church, the people of God. We have been resurrected from spiritual death to life in Christ. God did what we could not do. We have been adopted into God’s family and made His people. As His church, we have the responsibility of becoming spiritually mature. God allows us to be His children, and He encourages us as His children, but He will not make us do anything. God works as we work. He does what we cannot do. Make a commitment today to do what you can do – move forward in your life toward spiritual maturity – and then rely on God to take care of the rest.

-- Matthew Allen