Figuring Out God – The Walking Dead

Greetings Dear Reader,

We all have those moments when we are interrupted in our travel by a funeral procession.  They do not seem as common as they were when I was younger.  Still you are stopped in your progress.

In the first century world people were carried through town to the place of burial on a funeral bed.  There would be a loud group of mourners.  The people in procession would wail and lament.  This was common.  Jesus must have witnessed it often.  In some cases he acted.

Luke 7:11 – 16   Soon afterward, Jesus went to a city called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd went with him.  As he came near the entrance to the city, he met a funeral procession. The dead man was a widow's only child. A large crowd from the city was with her.  When the Lord saw her, he felt sorry for her. He said to her, "Don't cry."  He went up to the open coffin, took hold of it, and the men who were carrying it stopped. He said, "Young man, I'm telling you to come back to life!"  The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Everyone was struck with reverence and praised God. They said, "A great prophet has appeared among us," and "God has taken care of his people."

When Death comes to collect us it is a one sided conversation with no reversal.  That is what we expect.  We do not expect a carpenter who is also an itinerant preacher to interrupt.  We do not anticipate a reprieve from death of a loved one. 

Jesus would sometimes do the unexpected and raise the dead.  After all on the grand scale Jesus’ mission was to give us all a reprieve from death.  His family thought that they had him figured out when they sent for him to cure a sick Lazarus.  They did not understand when he waited until Lazarus was dead.  They gave up hope when he did not act as anticipated.  He chose to have the walking dead explain it to them.

When we think we have God figured out we give up hope.  It is in his nature to do beyond what we think he will do. Faith is what manufactures hope.  Jesus is the ultimate definition of turning death into a fighting chance to live.  The death of people, goals, and dreams are all within his wheelhouse.  I must live that way.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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