OCD-A

Somebody needs to call the sheriff, we have crumbs on the counter. Or is that a five alarm? I can’t remember. Oh Calm Down, Already.

Raise your hand if you have OCD. Okay, not the diagnosed kind, that would be just wrong and insensitive of me. I am talking the – don’t make a sandwich on the clean countertop or I may lose it kind of OCD. In our house, that’s certainly not me. Shhhh….

I think back to when I was single and living in Colorado. I knew exactly what was on my counter before I left for work each morning and what would be on it when I returned home from work each evening. Nothing. A bunch of nothing. I didn’t see an issue with making a sandwich right on the counter. Now, now, some of you may be sweating at just the thought of those crumbs, but trust me here, I cleaned them up. I’m certainly not scared of a few germs, and in fact, if we had children, I would intentionally throw their forks on the ground every now and then just to expose them. It’s healthy. Dirt is.

It kind of works out well when one person is mildly OCD and the other is SC (Simply Carefree- I just made that up). It creates balance. As long as you don’t get down eye level and check the counter for foreign objects or germs that must immediately be removed, consider yourself to be the SC.

Germs. You know who probably wasn’t too concerned about germs? Jesus. He touched people that were sick, contagious, and probably somewhat grotesque to look at. He didn’t discriminate in healing the most diseased of lepers. Rebuking the evilest of demons. He still raised Lazarus – from the dead – even after being forewarned that he smelled bad. Lets walk a minute through that. My mind tries so hard to envision that miraculous scene.

Jesus is notified that his dear friend has died – four days ago. He arrives and is told that this friend, Lazarus, has been wrapped (prepared for burial) and has been in a tomb for four days. Long story short, Jesus arrives and says “Lazarus, come out!” Imagining this scene, a dead man wrapped in linen cloths, probably covered head to toe, comes walking out of a tomb – after four days. What do you think HE was thinking? Could he see? Could he smell? Could he remember that he had died? Did he celebrate two birthdays from then on?

I think I know what must have happened next. He saw Jesus. He inhaled. He was alive. Can you imagine how loud things probably sounded at that moment, as people cheered in amazement and others, just speechless and perhaps fearful.

The stories about Jesus and his time here on earth are filled with wonder and promise. He must have had a magnetic personality. His people wanted to follow him. To believe in his goodness. Children were drawn to him. I believe that even the animals must have known him. When we see something good in someone, it stirs a desire to want to know the Source of the goodness. God was good. God is good. God will always be good. Wow.

43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped in strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”     -John 11:43-44   NIV