Remember Lazarus?

Remember Lazarus, the nearly dead spider plantlet I found and rescued last summer? I had noticed while watering that a stem (or “umbilical cord”) from the main plant had somehow dried up so I followed it to its end and found a shriveled gray-green, though more gray than green, plantlet. I planted it in soil and watered it—just in case…This picture shows a slightly improved version of its condition. As it began to revive, I named it Lazarus after the man Jesus raised from the dead after Lazarus was in the grave for four days.


The biblical Lazarus was a marvel everyone wanted to see (John 12:9). The people had seen Jesus raise others and they knew of the prophets Elijah and Elisha having raised people from the dead but those were “immediate” raisings--shortly after the person had died. This one though, was really big since, as the King James Version has Martha, Lazarus’ sister say, “He stinketh”. Not to be too indelicate but Jesus not only raised Lazarus from the dead but he rebuilt and restored that which was being destroyed by decomposition (John 11:39). The Lord’s specialty is rescuing the people he created from destruction. No matter how bad a person’s life “stinketh”, Jesus can clean it up (Hebrews 9:13) and make it new—transform it (Yes, he still literally raises dead people to this very day). He loves doing it because it gives glory to his Father—what motivation (John 14:12-14)!

Lazarus the spider plant, as it is now bears little resemblance to the gray, shriveled plantlet I found and rescued; now that it has life pouring into it again from soil and water—it’s like a new plant!

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