All conversation, all whispering, even all motion completely stopped as the big man was led into the large meeting room.
Standing at six foot ten and over 300 pounds, Leon was quite a sight. As the guards took their places behind him, he turned to face the group of teenagers who had been brought to the prison as part of the community’s new “restorative justice” program. As he cleared his throat to speak, every eye was on him.
When he spoke, his voice was as deep as the ocean and seemed almost as powerful. His gaze moved down the row of faces staring back at him. He cleared his throat once more and said, ”I can be a dead man walking…or I can be a live man walking. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I choose to live – even here, no, especially here. Live man walking, that’s me.”
Noting confusion on some of the young faces, he added, “Young men, you have that same choice. You’re walking, no doubt about that, but as surely as that guy Lazarus in the Bible, you’re locked in tombs, graves. Only difference is, he didn’t put himself there. You, on the other hand – you locked yourselves in tombs. What I hear is, you’re dead men walking. Got questions?”
Silence.
Leon shook his head sadly. Then his eyes got determined, and he said, “Look, this is your four days in the grave. Right now. Will you come out alive, or will you stay in there till you’re completely dead? It’s not too late. No matter what anyone – and I mean ANYONE – tells you, it’s never too late to choose life over death. How about it, any questions now?”
A hand slowly went up. “Mister….Leon…?”
Leon regarded the young man a few seconds before he answered. “Son, you haven’t lived long enough to call me Leon. Just call me Live Man.”
“OK, sir….Live Man….so why are you in prison?”
“Easy. I chose to be a dead man walking, and so I spread death. Sold drugs, killed a man. But mark my words, it’s never too late to come out of that tomb. Just ‘cause I’ll probably spend the rest of my earthy life here doesn’t mean it has to be wasted. Every day I can choose. I choose to be a Live Man Walking. You can, too.”
Jesus began to cry. The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!”
But some of them said, “He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?
Jesus was deeply disturbed again when he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. Jesus said, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, "Lord, the smell will be awful! He's been dead four days." Jesus replied, "Didn't I tell you that if you believe, you will see God's glory?" (John 11:35-40)
Sometimes we find ourselves in a season of life that seems dead. We feel shut out, left out, overlooked, passed by. It can seem as if we, like Lazarus, have been locked in a tomb.
Bad news seems to be all around us. Sometimes these seasons of life come as a result of our own choices and doing, or seemingly unavoidable life conditions. Sometimes as a result of choices those around us make.
Leon (Live Man Walking) discovered something amazing: Jesus will bring life from death. As he did for Lazarus, he will strip the bonds of the grave from you and leading you out into amazing, eternal life.