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“Lazarus Arise!” Why I’m Glad I Wasn’t
There
October 15, 2007
By Ronald Harper
I was reflecting on the story of Lazarus in John 11, and was awestruck when I
realized the depth of the faith of Mary and Martha. I began to think of how my
own faith would have caused me to react in a similar circumstance. (I found
myself seriously lacking in true faith.) I must admit that I finished my study
time with a tearful prayer similar to the prayer of the disciples, “Increase
our faith” (Luke 17:5).
Let’s try to understand the true depth of the situation:
1. The friend of the Lord had gotten sick—Should a man so close to God be
battling a serious sickness? Shouldn’t there be a divine protection on his life?
In fact, this was the exact sentiment of the witnesses: “And some of them
said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that
even this man should not have died?” (John 11:37).
2. His family called for the Lord to intervene—Now, surely the Lord would drop
whatever He was doing to rush to the aid of His friend. What did He do? He sent
the messenger back with a message for the family: “When Jesus heard that, he
said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of
God might be glorified thereby” (John 11:4).
3. However, Lazarus died—The family was now heading to the cemetery with a
message from God still ringing in their ears and stinging in their hearts.
4. Perhaps the most incredulous thing, in the mind of Mary and Martha, was that
Jesus did not even leave after He received their message—He hung around for two
more days. Can you imagine the pain of hearing the praise reports from the
miracles that were being performed by the Lord as He stayed where He was? He had
allowed Lazarus to die.
I admit that I may have even allowed a little bitterness to creep
in. After all, He was over there enjoying the crowds and allowed my situation to
die, even though He said it wouldn’t. I wonder if Mary and Martha didn’t feel a
little like this.
5. When Jesus finally did arrive, Mary did not even go to meet
Him—“Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met
him: but Mary sat still in the house” (John 11:20). Even Martha’s first
statement to the Lord reveals a small note of anger (Don’t criticize her yet. I
would probably have been angrier.): “Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if
thou hadst been here, my brother had not died” (John 11:21). In other words,
“Lord, if you would have done it my way, when I asked, this would not have
happened.” Note that this was also the first thing that Mary said when she met
the Lord (John 11:32).
6. We find Jesus weeping (in John 11:35)—Now, we have all heard about some of
the reasons that the Lord was weeping. Perhaps because of the pain that had to
be endured by those He loved to bring about the ultimate plan of God. Perhaps,
as one song put it, He did not cry because Lazarus was dead. He was crying
because He had to bring him back to a life of misery and pain.
7. Jesus did not roll back the stone—He asked the family to do it. God will
never do all of the work. He will always do His part, but expects us to do our
part, too.
Tough Questions to Me
At the end of my study, I found myself asking a hard question:
How is my faith? What happens when something happens that isn’t supposed to
happen to a Christian? David had similar thoughts in Psalm 37 and Asaph did in
Psalm 73. Asaph saw the prosperity of the wicked and things were not going right
for him. “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they
increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands
in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every
morning” (Psalm 73:12-14). I love his final answer: “When I thought to
know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou
castedst them down into destruction” (Psalm 73:16-18).
What happens to our faith when God doesn’t seem to answer on our timetable?
Maybe the answer we get from God seems to fail. Can you still hold on to a
“dead” promise?
Are you able to hold on to your promise and roll back the obstacles to allow God
to work on your circumstance?
ninetyandnine.com
© 2007, Ronald Harper
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Ronald Harper is originally from Louisiana, but
currently resides in North Carolina. He and his wife Cathy have six children and
four grandchildren. Ronald is a
published author
and poet. Creative writing is one of the ways he has fun.
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