Reigning in Life
Focus: Romans 5:17 - KJV
17. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
John 11:25-27
There is life and there is life. The one is meaningless while the other is meaningful. There is a life that is like being fully dead in that it is less purposeful and merely a routine; whereas there is another that is full of light, hope and fulfilment of destiny. The difference has to do with sin and righteousness. Sin leads to death. Adam sinned in the garden and got banished. Such banishment led to a life of sorrow for mankind whereby men were living dead in a space which the Lord had conceded to them. God has in His love ransomed man from being a walking corpse by making His Son the Christ, to die for the sin that brought death, so that by His sacrifice, life was made available again unto man. This life, though available is not bestowed freely willy, except on those who accept to come out of death in darkness and embrace life in the light. Lazarus was used to depict this by the Christ. He was dead and cast into darkness by the grave. No question about his dead status. Then Christ called him out of darkness into His marvelous light to live again. The dead Lazarus heard the voice of Christ and obeyed to come forth, thereby forsaking darkness for light and life. What else did Lazarus do that is noticeable? Yet he reigns through scriptural account on him through his encounter with Christ. Today, Christ is still calling every Lazarus in the tomb that sin has kept dead to come forth. But will they hear and obey?
Beloved, life and reigning in it, is a choice. If Lazarus preferred his dead status and refused then to yield to the voice of Christ, he would have remained in the tomb and suffer decay. It is a sort of parable to us to yield to the voice of Christ. Oh! Why wouldn’t he obey the voice of Christ? Please don’t be deceived. Many were dead that refused to obey His voice and remained dead. You think the multitude of impotent folks in Bethesda did not see the man healed and did not hear what Christ said to him and observe what happened thereafter? They preferred the state of death that sin kept them in than to receive life and light. That’s why they were not healed and not because Christ couldn’t heal them.
SOLUTION: The father is drawing everyone who is still in the pit of death and darkness to come to His saving grace in Christ Jesus. As many as will hear the voice of Christ through the preaching of His saints will be brought back to life. It is in Christ alone that we have life and have it more abundantly.
Father, we thank you for offering us life as against the death that our fore father settled for. Help us to reign in life through Christ forever more in Jesus’ name. Never let darkness draw us back into death and decay again through sin, in Jesus’ name. When we eventually see you in glory, grant us eternal life by your Spirit that we may reign with you forever in Jesus’ name.