"The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 11:21,
"'Lord,' Martha said to Jesus, 'if you had been here, my brother would not have died."'
As we all know, death's tragedy and heartache lies in the reality that we will never see a loved one again in this life when they pass. We can certainly empathize with both Mary and Martha at the death of their brother, Lazarus.
When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was (across the Jordan from Jerusalem) for a couple of days and then afterward headed to Bethany where Lazarus had died from his illness. Upon approaching, he was greeted by Martha who had come out to greet him. She said the above words, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died." After saying this, Martha fetched her sister, Mary, and when she came out to see Jesus, Mary said the same thing, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Verse 32c.
"'Lord,' Martha said to Jesus, 'if you had been here, my brother would not have died."'
As we all know, death's tragedy and heartache lies in the reality that we will never see a loved one again in this life when they pass. We can certainly empathize with both Mary and Martha at the death of their brother, Lazarus.
When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was (across the Jordan from Jerusalem) for a couple of days and then afterward headed to Bethany where Lazarus had died from his illness. Upon approaching, he was greeted by Martha who had come out to greet him. She said the above words, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died." After saying this, Martha fetched her sister, Mary, and when she came out to see Jesus, Mary said the same thing, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Verse 32c.
Clearly both sisters must have been praying and hoping Jesus would come and save Lazarus from dying from his illness. I'm certain they said as much based on the exact comments they both made, that if only Jesus would come as Lazarus lay sick (as opposed to tarrying on the other side of the Jordan.) We can picture them praying and comforting one another that Jesus would certainly arrive at any moment and save their brother. Afterall, Jesus loved Lazarus as well as Mary and Martha.
But Jesus did not come and Lazarus died. I have to think that in the midst of their grief, they must have felt confusion as to why Jesus had not come sooner to save him.
They had no idea what was to come next.
Their grief and confusion must have suddenly evaporated when they saw why Jesus delayed. In one of the most momentous events this world has ever seen, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, as his body lay decomposing for four days! This catapulted a scene of great bereavement and questioning about the Lord into amazement at the awesome works of the Son of God and his ability to raise anyone from the dead.
I see in this account encouragement for those times when we don't know what the Lord may be up to in the midst of things going south in our lives. We may pray about some major difficulty and not see the relief we hope for so much. Yet, it just may be the Lord is busy doing the unthinkable in our lives, as well as maybe others, as we struggle in difficulty.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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