No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44
When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” John 11:43-44
I was praying a usual prayer for salvation for a woman who doesn’t know Christ. I was praying for her to soften her heart, that she would seek God, be open, and then I paused. The Spirit reminded me of this great truth. No one can come to Jesus until the Father first draws him. I turned my prayer focus. I began to ask God to draw her to Himself. I knew I was praying in the Spirit. I was so reminded God always initiates His work.
God in His great love always does the initiating.
Jesus called dead Lazarus out of the tomb to life and to Himself. He calls dead people and gives us life so we can come to Him.
Lazarus wasn’t waiting in the tomb on his phone for Jesus to call him. Lazarus was dead. Jesus walked up to the tomb and called Lazarus to come out. Jesus’s initiation called Lazarus out of the tomb.
He didn’t prepare himself to respond to the call. He didn’t first remove the linen strips and face cloth while waiting for the call. He didn’t make himself presentable so he could come out. He was dead. He was called, and he came to life in response to Jesus.
The same pattern is true in our lives.
Jesus called us out of sin and we were born again. He now calls us out of self-centeredness. Every morning He calls us and we awaken by His providence with a beating heart and breath in our lungs. He calls us to Himself as His beloved sons. He calls us into times of spiritual discipline and devotion. He calls us as we take in the beauty of a sunrise or kissing your kid good-bye before leaving for work.
The Father is continually calling you to deeper communion with Himself.
Stop. Surrender yourself. Hit reset. Listen to Him calling you right now. Draw near to Him (Ja 4:8). Draw near not to earn His favor but to enjoy communion with the God who has already reconciled us to Himself in Christ.
Although Christ has raised us to new life, we often find ourselves living as though we’re still in the tomb. We must fight against three walls. Strongholds.
The first wall is the wall of doubt. We doubt His love. We don’t believe He is calling me. I’m not worthy. He doesn’t care. I’m not really His beloved son.
The second wall is pride. We blow this wall off by saying we don’t have time to listen. What we really mean is we can’t take the time. We are too busy trying to save ourselves. And so, we fill every second with self-driven efforts to remove suffering and abrasion to save ourselves.
The third wall is self-righteousness. We think we need to first remove our grave clothes so we can respond to Jesus and come out of the tomb. We struggle to receive the free gift of His righteousness.
The Next Question:
- What tomb do you need to walk out of?
- What walls and strongholds do you need to pull down?
- What would your life look like if you were continuously drawing near?