When does LIFE begin?

One of the transforming dimensions of the Gospel is how it approaches the “here and now” It comes with the hallelujah cry of “here and forever”. It speaks in contradiction to here and now thinking . The voices of today make their pronouncements. “Live for the moment.” “Grab it while you can.” And what does the Gospel say? “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life.” “I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly.” Life begins at a different point than what the world says.

Can you imagine my friend what it’s like to stumble out of the tomb? I shielded my eyes with my hands for the sunlight was too bright. The sky was this incredible blue, bluer than I had ever seen. The Light was shining in my world. A shadowy figure approached me. “Lazarus.” Immediately I knew who He was—my brother, my friend, my Lord. He reached out His hand and grabbed my shoulder. The Lord stood there with this fantastic grin. What an experience, to walk out of the tomb by the Power from on High, knowing your best Friend in all the world had brought you back to life. This was the Gospel in flesh and bone.

Set your mind on the things above and not on the things below. Man was warned for good reason. The cosmos can be a dangerous intersection. Attempts have been made to make God relevant to this world. But then God does not need to become relevant to this world. After all, He is the Divine Being, the Great I am. But it is this world and its timestamp that needs to be made relevant to God.

There is another world beyond this one. Ask me how I know! I had an idea before—but now, I really know. Coming back from the dead changes everything and it sure changed me. I am not the same Lazarus they put in the tomb. That old “Zee”, as my friends used to call me, was gone. I am a new person and very different from the one my friends used to know, including my sisters.

It is hard to argue against a time warp. Tell that to Mary and Martha. “Lord, You should have been there. You could have saved our brother.” The day I died hit my sisters very hard. They told me the story over and over again how they went to the Teacher. And they clearly did not understand what was happening. But the Teacher had planned all along that He would bring me back from the dead. “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” The world, including my two sisters, needed to see it.

This is the age of reason and enlightenment? Then when does life begin? I will tell you. It is when the Lord Creator, the power of the universe, Designer of the cosmos hits you right between the eyes. He gave me second life and I was not prepared for what was going to happen. This one startled me more than any other. And this is it. I no longer belonged to this world. I didn’t fit in. The full Gospel dimension that calls us from this life to the better life—the Life from on High, the great I Am life, had lifted me beyond all my earthly desires and worldly concerns.