In the Scriptural account of Lazarus, I am left with a burning question.
For the uninitiated, let me summarize:
Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha. The three of them were close friends of Jesus and apparently hosted him and his band of unschooled ruffians at the family homestead from time to time.
As the story goes (in John 11), Lazarus got sick. Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus, hoping he would rush to their side and heal their brother, as they had seen him heal so many others.
Unexpectedly, Jesus didn't jump up, put on his sandals, and hightail it to Bethany. Instead, he waited until Lazarus died, THEN headed out.
He arrived four days after the funeral. They had already wrapped Lazarus up and put him in a tomb. In fact, when Jesus walked to the gravesite and asked for the stone sealing the entrance to be rolled away, Martha warned him that it wasn't going to smell very good. (I love the King James Version at this point: "Lord, by this time, he stinketh.")
But they did as Jesus asked and Jesus brought Lazarus back to life!
It's a great story, and is pivotal in the narrative arc of Jesus being despised and eventually killed through the efforts of the religious leaders in Jerusalem.
But what never gets talked about...by John or any other Biblical writer...is the fact that Lazarus didn't stay resurrected forever. There is no reason to doubt that sometime after all these events, either because of old age, or persecution by the Romans, or getting sick, Lazarus died...again.
Well, to be truthful, I am concerned about the present of humanity and whether there will BE any future.
Let me explain...
I had to go to a local bank and renew my signatory status on a particular account.
I was ushered into a bank associate's office where I sat down, and a small, dark pad with some unknown significance was pushed to my side of the desk. It seems I would be using the attached, inkless pen to sign my name on the pad and my signature would be electromagically placed in a computer document.
The bank associate informed me that "this first signature is to give us permission to use your electronic signature instead of actually signing a piece of paper."
I immediately burst out laughing.
I thought it was hilarious that I was electronically signing something to authorize the electronic signing of things. How could that electronic signature be seen as authoritative without me having already signed such a document?
The bank associate smiled and said, "You're the only person who has ever seen how silly this is."
My concern for humanity's future isn't the irony of electric signatures to authorize electric signatures. My concern for humanity's future is that, out of the hundreds of people this bank associate has walked through the process, I am the only one to notice the irony.
How charming and delightful Adorable and cute, with your Practically Perfect smile and Your eyes that stun to boot
But beauty by Itself could not convince this Rogue to stay The thrill of the Hunt would surely Drag this Awful man Yonder and away
Belief and Empathy are your Lovely qualities that Often seem so rare Very seldom practiced by Everyone "out there" Debbie, I just plain love you and there's no rhyme or reason to it!
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