Giving life

“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it.” (John 5:21)
God is able to give life to dead bodies – we see numerous accounts of this in the Scripture (Adam, the widow at Zarephath’s son, the Shunammite woman’s son, Jairus’ daughter, the widow of Nain’s son, Lazarus, Eutychus). This strikes us as an amazing thing, probably because scientists haven’t figured out how to make life from non-life. However, the greater miracle is not the dead being physically raised, but the concept of being spiritually raised from the dead. We will not all experience the first, but the second is open to all.
When each person is born into this world, their spirit is dead because of Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:12). We cannot rectify the situation on our own. In fact, we make it worse, because we add our own sin to the condemnation we deserve. We need to ask for spiritual life in order to receive it. And God is pleased to give it to us, because He delights – or is pleased – to show mercy (Mic. 7:18).