On Good Friday, I went to a worship night where the worship leader mentioned that we were celebrating the grave being opened by resurrection life! Before he could say the name of Jesus however, to my surprise, the first person I thought of was Lazarus.
You see, Lazarus (whose story can be found in John 11) is a man in the Bible that God has used time and time again to speak to me personally about dead dreams and desires that will one day be resurrected. It is truly a beautiful story that I cling to, but in that moment, I was so disappointed in myself for thinking about what He can do for me instead of giving Him praise for Who He is. Though I know this isn’t His heart, for a split second, I had the thought that God was looking down at me thinking, “Did you forget that today is Good Friday? Get your priorities straight and worship!”
…but then He spoke to me.
“I raised Lazarus from the dead, but I wasn’t content to just have Lazarus. I died and was resurrected from the dead because I wanted to resurrect YOU.”
Wow.
Though we could offer Him nothing but our neediness and selfish desire to survive, Jesus was still willing to be crucified for THAT. Though our acceptance of Him was first based on what He could do for us, He spoke to me in that moment that He truly cared about my life, my dreams, and my desires so much that He gave His life in my place so that I could live them out for Him. He gave Lazarus life when He raised him from the grave, but He chose to come and give me life through His own death and resurrection. I was THAT worth it to Him, and He cares about my life THAT much.
How good is the love of God?
He knew that I could never give Him the glory He deserves, however, it was still in His heart to love me, bless me, and give His life for me. He reminded me that He does not disdain our praise that is based on what He does for us, or on what we can get from Him. He does not disdain our weak love. He is not upset by our little understanding of Who He is and the glory He deserves. He just wants our hearts. He will show us Who He is as we simply seek more of Him.
The Resurrected King is resurrecting me…
Though I am so unworthy.
But the beautiful thing is, the more I begin to understand what He’s done for me, the more I fall down at His feet in worship.
The more I am transformed by Who He is.
The more He becomes my ONE desire, and I am able to worship Him fully, because I see Him so much more clearly.
He is not ashamed of my praise simply based on what He can do for me.
He loves me. He loves me.
He loves me.
So, hear Him speak to you, too:
“I raised Lazarus from the dead, but I wasn’t content with just raising Lazarus. I wanted to raise YOU. I did not have to die, but I chose to because I wanted YOU…
Yes, I am worthy of all of your praise, but even if you never praised Me, I would have still given My life for you because I love you.”
Amanda Rassamni 