What would you scare Lazarus with?

Ravi Zacharias never fails to disappoint the listener in his talks, be it on theology, humor, wit or relevance.


“Have you ever wondered what you would do to frighten Lazarus after he’d been raised from the dead? What would you do to threaten him? Lazarus, I’m gonna’ kill you?

Caligula says, ‘I’m going to kill you.’

He says, ‘Ha, ha, ha.’

He says ‘stop ha, ha, ha-ing. I’m going to kill you as I’m killing all the Christians.’

He doubles over in uncontrollable laughter, comes up for air and says, ‘Caligula haven’t you heard? Death is dead! Death is dead!’

How do you frighten somebody who's already been there and knows the one who's going to let him out? "


I really haven't given as much credit to The Daily Bread on my blogs as I should considering how much thought it provokes in my small head almost everytime I read it which is almost everyday. A few weeks ago, one of the 'bread' titles, Worth Dying For, revived a memory of a church service that I attended not too long ago (in fact only 2 months ago) back in Hong Kong. The pastor was talking about a Chinese Christian who wrote how she witnessed many Christians denying their belief in Jesus Christ when they were threatened with persecution for their faith.

What would we do if we were put in that position? Isn't it easy to say "Ah I would never renounce my faith like that!", whilst perhaps others might say "What good would I be dead? Is it not better to lie now, stay alive, and speak the gospel later?"

The only response I can think of right now is what Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians "TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND TO DIE IS GAIN"(Philippians 1:21). Yet he goes on... "If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body." (1:22-24)

As Christians we actually do have a bit of a dilemma don't we? We know that an unimaginably wonderful place is waiting for us after life on earth, where we'll walk in streets of gold and be with Jesus Himself as well as all the legendary followers of Christ that have gone before us. Yet we also ought to believe that God can still use us as ambassadors to more people to Christ, to witness to light amidst suffering, to bring joy to the hopeless.

Thoughts?