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Some people say that if God revealed Himself more clearly, they would believe in Him. If He showed up in person or did something miraculous in their lives, then they would believe. Maybe. Yet there are several examples in Scripture of people who saw some great work of God yet still did not believe.

One occurs when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. In what must have been a very dramatic moment, Jesus says in John 11:43, “Lazarus, come out.” Then comes verse 44. “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, ‘Untie him, and let him go.’”

So imagine you were there that day. You have come to comfort Mary and Martha in their grief. Lazarus has been in the tomb four days. So it’s certain he’s dead. Yet Jesus speaks and out comes the dead man completely re energized with life. You would think this would be enough to convince anyone presence that Jesus was indeed God’s Son.

But then comes John 11:45-48. “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come to Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

What? Messengers have come and announced Jesus just brought a dead guy back to life. Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t that reason to rejoice that God has come to visit His people and help in such a dramatic way? Wouldn’t this be proof enough of the existence and presence of God?”

Not to those folks. Why? Jesus’ power threatened their status and place in society. They valued their position more than any evidence of God’s existence. Sometimes this claim that “God needs to show me more before I believe” is really a smoke screen to justify ignoring God. Something else has more value than actually believing and following God.

Yet before we judge others who may think like this, I found myself convicted by this passage. Yes, I believe that Jesus is the Christ and God’s Son. Yes, I am a Christ follower. But if Jesus called me to do something that would turn my life upside down, would I do it? Would I be willing to have my place taken away for the cause of Christ? If not, I am identifying with the Pharisees. I may value something more than following Christ. I thank the Lord for His patience with me when I think like that.

“Lord Jesus, we praise you for the great merciful work You did in raising Lazarus from the dead. That event continues to reverberate through history to give us hope for resurrection ourselves some day and those we love. Yet we may reject Your great works if it goes beyond our comfort zone. Forgive us Lord for such short sightedness. Forgive us for placing our comfort, our place, our position or our plans above you. Empower us to follow and obey wherever You lead.”