The Lazarus Principle
by Sheila Walsh on 11/17/2009 11:11
Six weeks ago I made a decision to change the way I live my day to day life. I committed to myself that I would not just loose weight but get heart healthy too and train for a half marathon in March 2010. I've cut out sugar and all empty carbs. I joined an all-girls gym and began to work with a wonderful trainer, Melissa twice a week. I have to say that by the end of week one I thought, "This is all too little too late." I hurt all over but really the mental battle was the biggest. I would set the alarm to get up and head out to the gym but when it went off all I wanted to do was bury it under the pillow and go back to sleep-but I didn't. Here's why, I call it the Lazarus principle.
In John's gospel chapter 11 we read the story of Christ calling a man, Lazarus who had been dead for 4 days back to life again. The amount of days here has great significance. At that time there was a belief in Jewish culture that for 3 days the spirit could return to the body but on the fourth, when it saw how pale it was it would never return. Jesus wanted to make sure that there was no doubt in anyone's mind that this man was gone. Jesus approached the entrance to the tomb and told them to roll the stone away. Then he called out, "Lazarus, come out!" Lazarus, finding himself back in his body stumbled out into the blinding daylight. Jesus didn't touch him instead he turned to those gathered and said, "Unbind him and let him go."
Here's the Lazarus principle, Jesus does what only he can do, call from death to life but then he asks us to do what we can do. I realized that I can sit around for the next ten years praying that I'll wake up slim and toned or I get get my sorry self out of bed and do what I can do. In six weeks I've lost 15 inches, dropped 12 pounds and my blood pressure has gone down to that of a thirty year old. God has given us a wonderful gift in our body and it's up to us to live up to our end of creation. We can't all afford a trainer or even a gym but you can get out and walk or run up and down your stairs. We have one life to live-this is it. My ultimate goal is to be as healthy as possible to serve God for as long as possible-then get to heaven and eat carbs for a thousand years! (Just kidding, kind of)
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