This is an account that is recorded in Luke 7:11-17. Jesus is on his way to a city in Galilee called Nain which means beautiful or green pastures. During his travel he sees a funeral procession a woman who is a widow is now in the process of burying her only son.During that time women were not valued like they are today, income was created and distributed through the husband and if he passed then the sons were responsible for taking care of the mother.If a woman has no husband or sons she was destined to live the remainder of her days impoverished, forgotten and alone. This is why Naomi called herself Mara in the book of Ruth because she had lost her husband and both of her sons. Naomi was now bitter about her present and her future, this signifies that all her dreams had been taken away and any plans that she may have had for the future were destroyed when her son passed away.So now we are getting a fly on the wall perspective of Jesus walking into a town in Galilee called Nain with it’s beautiful green pastures, trees, fruit and an abundance of grain and everyone living a happy and carefree life. However just at the gates of the city of Nain there was a woman who is literally burying her future, her son had died and she was walking to the grave site with her only son. The woman, the bible doesn’t give her a name because she represents anyone who has lost their past and is watching the disposal of their dead future right before their very eyes. She is grieving! Crying, her husband died previously, so whatever plans she had with him were gone, but she did have hope for a future with a son. Has anyone ever had to discard the plans that you had because they were stolen from you because of a death, sickness, loss of wages, an unfaithful significant other or whatever the case may have been?To be in the position of a dead past is very hard and it takes some time to get over the pain of the circumstances and or people that caused them. Now you are trying to get back on your feet. You have forgiven and forgotten past mistakes and people. You fix your hair, put on nicer clothes, start eating better, you are able to pay your bills, maybe even save a little, meet someone new gradually getting back on your feet. Then Bam! Your son dies, there goes your future. You lose that job, the person you met isn’t what you thought they would be, the cancer comes back. Whatever the situation it knocks you down yet again, and you find your self standing in the funeral procession reeling with doubt, pain and sorrow. What happened? How did I get here? The last little bit of hope I had has now been shattered, what do I do now?Then out of the corner of her eye you sees a man, a regular kind of guy. She wonders if he just trying to get around the procession or is he here to pay his respects. Overcome with pain and fear over the newest thing that has just been dropped in her already overburdened lap she is just so consumed with grief she ignores the man.How many of us ignore Jesus? Not another song, scripture, prayer or prophecy. What does he want? Doesn’t he see me in pain? I need relief from the pain and frustration that I am currently experiencing not a bunch of words.Wait what is he doing? He tells the woman not to cry and touches the bier or the container that is holding her dead son. Jesus is touching the place where her future dreams and aspiration are contained, the coffin of her dead son.We can all relate how the dreams that were murdered by life's circumstances and situations, the ones that we have given up on that we are now in the process of tossing into the local open grave.With tears streaming down our faces, we cover our dead future by shoveling hope, promise and happiness into the grave of our dreams and aspirations. Then here comes a man that says don't weep? What? That's all I have left are tears don't you see my life is in ruins? But this was different, it's Jesus of Nazareth the Son of the living God who has just stopped by to interrupt a funeral procession, our funeral procession. Jesus tell the woman’s dead son to arise and he does. To most people who lack the patience and stamina to believe that Jesus can raise the dead literally and figuratively will have a hard time believing that, yes Jesus can step in the midst of a dead future and revitalize it. I can believe it and so can you, how? Jesus is a supernatural being. Yes, he came to earth in the form of a man to be our kinsman redeemer but he is God and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24) This means that Jesus works and moves outside of our time continuum, outside of the natural laws that we as humans are govern by.So it is very possible for Jesus to raise the dead or redeem time stolen or replace dreams.Jesus can step into your dead future tell it to arise and it will. How can he do it for me? Allowing Jesus to take hold of the very container that holds the dead things in your life. Ask him and he will do it for you.
