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| "It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." (John 11:4) |
Hey guys! It's Deeds!
So glad that you're here today. My life has settled into yet another new normal for now; my kids have all finished up there schooling, grades are completed, and smiles are big! Including my own!
Today, I'm in John 11. This is a recent favorite passage of scripture. The story of Jesus picks up where a dear friend Lazarus has fallen sick, then dies. Why is this a recent favorite? I'm so glad you asked. It's such a sweet yet gripping account of love, time, grace, confusion, death, life, and so much more. Much more, I've been convicted by seeking God's glory in all things, especially His timing. This chapter reads...
"Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” 17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” 28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” 38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
(John 11:1-44, italics mine)
Are you moved? Can you join these hearts as they go from a weeping hopelessness and confusion, to full on shock and wonder?
This indeed is a mighty passage of scripture, showing us plainly that Jesus as God the Son has full power, full control, full authority in heaven and on Earth. He commands the physical realm as well as the spiritual realm. Raising someone from the dead is just one of MANY things He does in response to the pleas that surround Him. I encourage us all to look a bit more deeply into the context of this story, for there is extensive reasoning behind the works of Jesus on our behalf...
When darkness looms, tragedy strikes, pain ensues, trouble comes, someone dies, we look and pray to God to heal and fix the problems; restore the good; bring about comfort; renew our condition. Don't get me wrong; we are unmistakably encouraged to pray, to take our petitions to the Holy Throne of God, with thanksgiving. There is help and hope, connection and communion with the Lord when we seek Him earnestly and consistently. However, the approach to our prayer life may need to be considered: are we coming to God to fix up our lives and change the bad, the ugly and the difficult into right, bright and lovely? Or can we say that our prayers reflect the desires of our heart to get closer, go deeper and know more clearly, the person and glory of Jesus Christ our Savior?
This indeed is a mighty passage of scripture, showing us plainly that Jesus as God the Son has full power, full control, full authority in heaven and on Earth. He commands the physical realm as well as the spiritual realm. Raising someone from the dead is just one of MANY things He does in response to the pleas that surround Him. I encourage us all to look a bit more deeply into the context of this story, for there is extensive reasoning behind the works of Jesus on our behalf...
When darkness looms, tragedy strikes, pain ensues, trouble comes, someone dies, we look and pray to God to heal and fix the problems; restore the good; bring about comfort; renew our condition. Don't get me wrong; we are unmistakably encouraged to pray, to take our petitions to the Holy Throne of God, with thanksgiving. There is help and hope, connection and communion with the Lord when we seek Him earnestly and consistently. However, the approach to our prayer life may need to be considered: are we coming to God to fix up our lives and change the bad, the ugly and the difficult into right, bright and lovely? Or can we say that our prayers reflect the desires of our heart to get closer, go deeper and know more clearly, the person and glory of Jesus Christ our Savior?
In the passage above, we see that Jesus indeed performs the miracle. After both Mary AND Martha fall to His feet in tears, He indeed is moved to make things good again by raising Lazarus from the dead. He has compassion, love and tenderness toward a group of people devastated by death and loss. It's a difficult thing to experience, and He feels it with them.
But in Jesus' own words, we also see a reason and purpose for His miracle of resurrection which is far beyond the perspective of the "here and now." We see a call to a greater view of a grander picture that exceeds and is ultimate in all things: the glory of God.
In verse 41, JESUS prays to God. JESUS petitions the Father. JESUS lifts His voice to bring His requests to Him. "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me."
There are a couple of things to note here. Firstly, Jesus is not asking God to raise Lazarus from the dead. In fact, we've already seen in prior verses that He's planning on doing so, willing that Lazarus be made alive again to walk the earth. But secondly, He's bringing a magnificent opportunity to the people around Him to see that He is indeed who He says He is.
The Resurrection.
The Life.
The Son of God.
The Light of the World.
And ultimately, the One who stands outside and above all creation, using the element we know as "time" as a tool to glorify Himself and bring honor and glory to God.
But in Jesus' own words, we also see a reason and purpose for His miracle of resurrection which is far beyond the perspective of the "here and now." We see a call to a greater view of a grander picture that exceeds and is ultimate in all things: the glory of God.
In verse 41, JESUS prays to God. JESUS petitions the Father. JESUS lifts His voice to bring His requests to Him. "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me."
There are a couple of things to note here. Firstly, Jesus is not asking God to raise Lazarus from the dead. In fact, we've already seen in prior verses that He's planning on doing so, willing that Lazarus be made alive again to walk the earth. But secondly, He's bringing a magnificent opportunity to the people around Him to see that He is indeed who He says He is.
The Resurrection.
The Life.
The Son of God.
The Light of the World.
And ultimately, the One who stands outside and above all creation, using the element we know as "time" as a tool to glorify Himself and bring honor and glory to God.
When we bring our petitions to God, sometimes we (at least I know I do) forget that God is outside of time and space. He's beyond our world and our tangible experience. He's both near and far. He's both here and there. He's both the beginning and the end. He's both now and forever. Time is of value to Him, but He is not constrained by it. As we seek the Creator God in Jesus' name for the overabundance of situations that we know as "life," the tendency is to think and relate in terms of our present. The glory of God is made manifest in our present to be sure. But as God who establishes everything, makes everything beautiful in its time, is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, God's purposes in our lives extend all the more wonderfully and unfathomably into eternity. Past this life. Past death. Past our here and now. Past our shake-able, broken world. Past our loss, suffering, struggles and pain. Past our hopes, dreams, and aspirations.
In John 11, Jesus is moved in His spirit for the humanity that surrounds Him. He is touched with the difficulties of mortality. He is brought to tears over the brokenness that covers our hearts, our homes, our gravestones. But He is not stopped by death. He is not inhibited by darkness. He is not forbidden by loss, depravity, failure, hopelessness, confusion and chaos.
As the Resurrection and the Life, Christ welcomes the opportunity to reveal God's glory in all things, here in the life of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, and now in your life and mine.
The Gospel Transformation Bible puts it this way,
"The Gospel is a story of our God doing all things well, not all things easily. His name is Abba Father, but this does not mean that he leads his children in a life of complacent ease and comfort. Indeed, upon hearing about Lazarus's sickness, Jesus waited to days longer before responding -- apparently so that his compassion could be revealed by a more glorious expression of divine power, expressed according to divine wisdom and timing. God's ways are not our ways. They are much better."
And then later, "The more deeply we know and walk with Jesus, the more readily we accept God's glory as our greatest good, even when it feels like such a momentary bad. As 'the resurrection and the life,' Jesus is always writing better stories than we could ever pen. Martha and Mary would soon find this to be true." (p. 1428)
As those who seek God, may we be those who trust God in all things - even His timing.
As those who trust God, may we be those who seek His glory.
Much love,
Deeds
IG: @mercies_journaled
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Bold & Outline Caps
Time Well Spent
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In John 11, Jesus is moved in His spirit for the humanity that surrounds Him. He is touched with the difficulties of mortality. He is brought to tears over the brokenness that covers our hearts, our homes, our gravestones. But He is not stopped by death. He is not inhibited by darkness. He is not forbidden by loss, depravity, failure, hopelessness, confusion and chaos.
As the Resurrection and the Life, Christ welcomes the opportunity to reveal God's glory in all things, here in the life of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, and now in your life and mine.
The Gospel Transformation Bible puts it this way,
"The Gospel is a story of our God doing all things well, not all things easily. His name is Abba Father, but this does not mean that he leads his children in a life of complacent ease and comfort. Indeed, upon hearing about Lazarus's sickness, Jesus waited to days longer before responding -- apparently so that his compassion could be revealed by a more glorious expression of divine power, expressed according to divine wisdom and timing. God's ways are not our ways. They are much better."
And then later, "The more deeply we know and walk with Jesus, the more readily we accept God's glory as our greatest good, even when it feels like such a momentary bad. As 'the resurrection and the life,' Jesus is always writing better stories than we could ever pen. Martha and Mary would soon find this to be true." (p. 1428)
As those who seek God, may we be those who trust God in all things - even His timing.
As those who trust God, may we be those who seek His glory.
Much love,
Deeds
IG: @mercies_journaled
Stamps used:
Bold & Outline Caps
Time Well Spent
Grunge Elements 2
Texture Tile 2
Classy Script
Sweet n Simple
Mini Grunge Type
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