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Lessons from Lazarus (2)
'Now a certain man was sick ... Lazarus of Bethany...' John 11:1
Martha and Mary sent news to Jesus that their brother Lazarus was sick, and might die. What do you think Jesus did when he heard this? Well, you know Jesus loved people, so you might make an educated guess he went over to the house pretty sharpish. But no, he didn't. In fact, he waited two days before going to see them. And by that time Lazarus had died.
Funny way of showing you love someone, doing nothing about it for a few days! you might think. But God never makes mistakes. He always knows what he's doing and he did here, too. Jesus said to his disciples, '...Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe...' (John 11:14-15 NIV).
Jesus wanted to instil faith in his disciples that he was who he said he was by letting them witness Lazarus come back to life. There was a purpose in his timing, not neglect.
God loves us massively and because of that, no matter how bad things can be, we can trust that '...God works all things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose' (Romans 8:28 NIV).
written by Bob Gass
'Now a certain man was sick ... Lazarus of Bethany...' John 11:1
Martha and Mary sent news to Jesus that their brother Lazarus was sick, and might die. What do you think Jesus did when he heard this? Well, you know Jesus loved people, so you might make an educated guess he went over to the house pretty sharpish. But no, he didn't. In fact, he waited two days before going to see them. And by that time Lazarus had died.
Funny way of showing you love someone, doing nothing about it for a few days! you might think. But God never makes mistakes. He always knows what he's doing and he did here, too. Jesus said to his disciples, '...Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe...' (John 11:14-15 NIV).
Jesus wanted to instil faith in his disciples that he was who he said he was by letting them witness Lazarus come back to life. There was a purpose in his timing, not neglect.
God loves us massively and because of that, no matter how bad things can be, we can trust that '...God works all things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose' (Romans 8:28 NIV).
written by Bob Gass
