“Jesus responded, ‘Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?’ So they rolled the stone aside.” John 11:40-41 NLT

It is a grave in the side of a hill. The stone is large and heavy. Surely not to keep the dead in, but to keep the living out. The grave cries out, “Over. Gone. Ended. Done.” On the inside is death and eternity. On the outside is fear and sorrow.

But in the midst of this hopelessness, Jesus – the resurrection and the life – comes in, and Lazarus – the dead man – comes out.

Behind the stone, in the solitude and sanctuary of the tomb, God was at work. In a place no one could see. In a way no one imagined. He brought life to the dead.

There are tombs in my heart. Places where I have buried my hopeless things and sealed them with hard and heavy stones. Habits I can’t change. Relationships I’ve given up on. Plans I’ve abandoned. Outside of their graves I grieve their loss and quietly respect their finality.

However, in the cemetery of these graves, could it be that there are some buried places where God is still at work? That behind the stone doors, where no one can see, he is breathing life into dead things? Am I watching in case Jesus comes to stand by one of my hopeless hills? At his bidding, am I willing to move the stone? Do I have the faith that is able see God’s glory there?