Monday, January 09, 2006
TIGHTLY WRAPPED
TIGHTLY WRAPPED
By Sally I. Kennedy
Jan 9, 2006
.........and let him go. John 11:44
There's been a food fad around for awhile now called 'wraps'.
Veggie wraps, ham and cheese wrap, chicken Caesar wrap....you name it.
'Tightly wrapped' is a phrase sometimes used for people who are
high strung, those who might need to lighten up, "get a life".
Lazarus was a guy who was tightly wrapped. Not in a nervous angst.
Literally wrapped. The bible tells the story (John 11).
Lazarus was one of Jesus best friends. Someone He could hang out with,
relax, have dinner, talk things over. Apparently Jesus spent the night
there often, with Lazarus and his sisters, whenever He went to
Jerusalem.
Anyway, Lazarus died. When Jesus arrived at Bethany, not far from
Jerusalem, He went to the tomb with Mary, Martha, and the others. He
was moved to tears, and after praying to His Father, He called in a
loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
The dead man came out, with all the burial cloths on, his hands and
feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Then
the bible says, '"Jesus said to them, 'Take off the grave clothes
and let him go'."
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, gave him life. Yet He told the
people to rip off and unravel those grave cloths, so that Lazarus could
freely move on.
Jesus is still in the business of saving lives, calling us to leave a
life that leads to spiritual death, and embrace a spiritual
resurrection and new life by believing in Him. Then, sometimes, He
says to us: Loose him/her, and let him go.
This is where forgiveness can come in. We can keep others tied up with
unforgiveness. They can have new life in Christ, be 'born-again',
and yet be bound up unless we forgive and turn them loose.
The gospels all speak about forgiving others as we have been forgiven.
It is a mandate that we make the decision to choose to forgive, whether
we feel like it or not. Surely we don't want to be 'tightly
wrapped'; it is our privilege, and responsibility, to allow our
brothers and sisters the same freedom, with great love.
Irish Thursdays, inspirational messages by Sally I. Kennedy, ©2005
htttp://www.sallyikennedy.com
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PRAYER
"Lord, fill me with your love and increase my thirst for holiness.
Cleanse my heart of every evil thought and desire and help me to act
kindly and justly and to speak charitably with my neighbor."
Any comment to today's reflection go to:
http://efoodforthought.blogspot.com/
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