It's never too late...

If you have a pulse then you have likely experienced some level of hopelessness in your life. Perhaps it’s your marriage that seems to be headed for a dead end. Perhaps your kids are completely out of control and seem lost to the saving work of Jesus Christ. Perhaps your relationship with your extended family is tenuous and seems like it will never bear any fruit. Perhaps you personally feel like you can’t be restored in God’s eyes. You’ve done too much. You’ve strayed too far.

Broken relationships seem to define our lives.
Internal hopelessness wells within you.
The continual lump in your throat reminds you that the end is near or worse, has already arrived. Hopelessness abounds.

One of the most appealing aspects of Scripture is that it offers hope. The sick are healed, the dead are raised, life is renewed, forgiveness is granted, relationships are restored. Situations that appear to be hopeless are suddenly flooded with a renewed hope. What was thought to be lost, is suddenly and inexplicably found. What was previously determined to be a dead end suddenly opens up to reveal a new beginning. The story of God sending Jesus to restore humanity is one of hope. Jesus’ miracles while He walked the earth are full of life giving, hope restoring acts.

I am reminded of the account recorded for us in Luke 7.

Luke 7:11-17 says, “Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother. Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.”

Setting aside the obvious, there is something amazing that jumped out to me in this account.

                                    "There is no such thing as a window of opportunity 
                                              when it comes to Jesus and His miracles."

This wasn’t Jesus swooping in at the last minute to save the day. This wasn’t Jesus coming to the rescue when hope had almost run out. This wasn’t a mother’s desperate plea for Jesus to save her long lost son at the last moment. This was already over. The deed was done. The funeral was underway. The processional had already assembled and they were headed to the burial grounds. Hope of another outcome had come and gone and the boy’s mother had already resigned to the fact that she would spend the rest of her days alone and perhaps unprotected.

From the outside looking in, the window of opportunity was closed. All hope for a miracle to occur had passed when her son breathed his last. Then comes Jesus. He steps on to the scene and filled with compassion He looks to the grieving mother and says, “Don’t cry”. Can you imagine her confusion. How could she be expected to not cry at a time like this? Was this man Jesus unaware of what was happening? Did He not realize that she was grieving?

Perhaps she assumed that His words were designed to encourage her. As in, “Don’t cry it’s going to be okay.” or “Don’t cry, you’ll get through this.” What followed next not only baffled the grieving mother but it terrified the crowd that had gathered as well.
“Young man, I tell you, get up.” 

In an instant, Jesus snatched back what death had claimed. There is no window of opportunity when it comes to the power of Jesus and His miracles.

Think for a moment of that person or situation that you feel is lost. See that face, imagine that situation in your mind’s eye. Review the details of that broken relationship that you are convinced is over. Rehash that poor choice or series of poor choices in your own life that you are sure Jesus can’t forgive.

Say these words out loud: “Young man, I tell you, get up.”

When we see hopelessness, Jesus sees hope.
When we see a closed door, Jesus sees an open door.
When we see a dead end, Jesus sees a new beginning.

The window is wide open and Jesus is more than capable of performing a miracle in your life today. Be encouraged and keep moving forward. 

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