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Opportunities

Make the most of the opportunities around you.

Something to read

When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’

- John 11: 43-44 .

Something to think about

I’ve often wondered about how Lazarus feels when he comes out of the tomb. How bright and warm things must be after the darkness and coolness of the stone.

There’s a part of me that feels for him, too – it must be so confusing. Did he know that he had died? Where had he been between his death and raising to life? How did this experience change the rest of his life?

There are theories that Lazarus was the anonymous figure described as the disciple Jesus loved.

Jesus and Lazarus certainly were close before this miracle, and would have stayed close afterwards.

And the disciple who Jesus loved took risks for him and stayed alongside him. We will never know for sure. But I think that we can be certain that it will have strengthened the bond between them - and that for Lazarus, this really was the first day of the rest of his life.

Something to do

Think about today as the first day of the rest of your life. What opportunities can you take? Who can you call? What can you start? Or even… what can you finish?

Something to pray

Give me the courage to start something new, and the strength and stamina to finish it.

Today's contributor is Suzanne Elvidge, a writer who specialises in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, technology, business and ecological issues, at the time of writing.