March 25, 2021
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” – John 11:21-27
Why must we suffer? Why must suffering happen this way? But someone has said, that instead of asking why, the better question is “what?” What can I learn from this time in my life, of trial? Or even ask, “How?” How does God want to see me grow through this pain? We don’t always know the answers to these questions, but eventually God will work them out through us, and sometimes in spite of us.
In her first book, Joni, Joni Eareckson Tada tells of the tragic driving accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down. She chronicles the agony she went through in the aftermath and how eventually she came to trust in Christ and submit to Him. She ends the book by telling of speaking at a rally to hundreds of young people and her hope that scores of them would come to have a faith in Jesus Christ. The she adds (p.228), “But I will be please if only on person is drawn to Christ. Even one person would make the wheelchair worth all that the past eight years have cost.” Even though it was many years ago, she dedicated her life to allow her suffering to help others find a faith in Christ.
God teaches us that even in the midst of pain, even in the midst of suffering and grief, even in the midst of death, God can be glorified.
These sisters, Martha and Mary did not understand the Lord’s delay. Both of them cried out the same complaint, “lord, if you had been here, our brother would not have died.” They blamed the delay of Jesus for the death of their brother.
But the reason for Jesus delay was not disregard, it was love. By delaying, the would see more of God’s glory in their Lord, and know even more of His almighty power. Their faith in Him, and in His purpose would grow. The Lord’s deliberate delay was from love, though they did not understand it.
Paul writes in Romans 8:28: “And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose.”
And how much more in Scripture could we read about our need to wait upon the Lord? If God answered instantly every time, we might not recognize our need to depend on Him, nor our need to be surrounded by the communion of saints in our faith community. Here we learn to rely on God’s almighty power, and the communion we share by those who share in the faith, that we might find care and comfort, and Jesus in our midst despite our times of suffering and grief. We learn from this passage that delay in raising Lazarus from the dead is the precursor for our own resurrection. Through this we see that although we will all die, one day we will all be raised, and we will be made like Christ.
Jesus is the resurrection and the life, if we believe in Him, then even though we die, we will live forever more. And that is a certainty worth believing in.
Grace & Peace,
Sam