ROOTED RENEGADE

Often times when we go into recovery of any kind we go into it wearing what I call “grave clothes”. The clothes we are wearing when we enter jails, institutions, or in some cases the final phase…death. The clothes we wore in and out of the trap houses. The clothes we wear for days on end because many times we are too high to realize we need to change them so we just keep wearing them until someone pointed it out. The clothes we were wearing the day we are arrested, falling off of us because we had lost so much weight from the drugs and alcohol. The clothes we wore in our daily lives being moms and dads suffering internal turmoil not being able to release the anguish we felt, having to hide behind a mask of denial.

Clothes, which we have all at some point or another worn for various reasons, to clothe ourselves, to hide.

Psalm 86:13 NWT “For your loyal love to me is great, and you have saved my life from the depths of the grave”.

Clothes. Think about your clothes for a minute. Ones that are your favorite. Maybe ones you just bought and you can’t wait to try them on. Think about how much they mean to you. How much they cost? If they are old, do they have any holes, tears, etc? If they are new, where did you get them? What color are they? Do they have a pattern on them?

Do you have a good visual now? Good!

Clothes. Now think about them in a spiritual sense. How often do you think about what you are going to wear? How often do you think about the clothes I just had you focus on? Your favs?

Now, think about Jesus talking to Lazarus! What did Jesus tell Lazarus?

First He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43). But when he came out of the grave he was still bound by the grave clothes. They didn’t immediately fall off of him. That is important for us to remember because I think sometimes we read stories in the Bible and miss important pieces to the story. Lazarus was still bound by the grave. He was still wrapped tightly in it. He may have been alive but the grave still had a hold on him. It wasn’t like he could speak or use his hands to unwrap himself. No! Lazarus needed help. He needed someone else to help him out of his grave clothes. Yes, you heard that right! Lazarus needed help just like we need help. Jesus knew it too. Jesus didn’t just call Lazarus out of the grave. That is not where the story stopped for him. Jesus commanded that they “unbind him and let him go” (John 11:44). Lazarus had to be unbound from his grave clothes. Unloosed. Freed. Released.

Honestly, I have read that story and heard that story so much and never understood it until I started working on shedding my old self. I had no idea that it was a process to be unbound from grave clothes. So, think about that when you are helping someone you love or when God sends someone along your path. What “grave clothes” are they still wrapped in? How are they still bound that you can help them get loosed?

I challenge you to invite the Holy Spirit into the process. Dive deeper into the story of Lazarus. What is it that you may need to shed in your own life?

Welcome the shedding process. It may be hard, but living is so freeing. We all have troubles in this world, but it is better than being bound and shackled by grave clothes!