Listen

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep.

John 11:7–13

Think

The disciples learned over time that following Jesus can be a bit dangerous. Jesus challenges our understanding of what is sensible. I love the interchange in these verses when the disciples ask Jesus if they are really going back to Judea, reminding him that the people there had tried to kill him. Jesus responds, “Are there twelve hours of daylight?”

In the end, the disciples take up the challenge follow this sarcastic leader back into that dangerous territory. Sometimes following Jesus requires us to question our assumptions and even to take a risk for the sake of someone else. Following Jesus will challenge our comfort zones because, for followers of Jesus, a lot more than our own comfort is at stake.

Mike Angell

Pray

God, I want to live the kind of dangerous life Jesus led. Help me to give up my comfort for the sake of being his follower. Amen.

Go

We all fall short of the glory of God.
But being a follower of Jesus means taking the risk
That the resurrection-informed life is the better way.

Take the risk that your prayers might be powerful,
That love may in fact be the strongest thing of all,
Worth giving all you have that it might be known.

The glory of God will light your way.