Lessons from Lazarus

I heard a sermonette the other day that touched me deeply.  I drank in every word, hoping that I could later write it all down so I wouldn't ever forget it.  I finally did.  I will share it with you here, the story that took on new meaning for me.  I hope it does for you too.  Here it is in my own words:

John takes the time to describe an event in the life and ministry of Jesus… an event that had profound effects on many people and that ultimately led to the discussion of Jesus’ demise.  But what we see as a wonderful miracle for Lazarus and his two sisters is actually a beacon of hope to many of us today.

  Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha.  They held a special place in his heart.  He often visited their home in Bethany and found it to be a place of rest and refreshing.  When Lazarus fell deathly sick, the sisters sent Jesus a message saying, “…he whom thou lovest is sick.”  John often used this sort of title for people of special interest to Jesus.  John chose to list himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  Not only does John mention Lazarus as one that Jesus loved, but he repeats himself only two verses later saying, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.”  Okay, we get the point. They were his special peeps and he cared for them deeply.

  But the story gets interesting from here.  You’d think that upon hearing that his beloved friend was sick unto death, that Jesus would immediately rise up and go to see Lazarus to at least say goodbye!  Or maybe even heal him.  He could have even spoken a word like he did for the centurion, and Lazarus would have popped up out of his deathbed.  But instead, Jesus just waited two more days.

  What confusion this must have caused the disciples!  They know how deeply Jesus cared for Lazarus and his sisters, and they know that the man is near to death’s door, and yet, Jesus seems to be oblivious to the pain and sorrow this was causing Mary and Martha.  He seemed completely distant and uninterested… like the god that creates everything then just sits there watching and waiting while we wallow in sin, pain and loss.

  When Jesus finally says, “let’s go,” he takes the time to tell his disciples that Lazarus is “sleeping” (i.e. dead).  They think that’s fine and dandy until Christ then pops their bubble with “Lazarus is dead.”  The disciples must have thought, “Boy, he took that well.”  Still, no emotion on Jesus’ part is portrayed in the Biblical account.  He appears stoic.

  When Jesus arrives in Bethany, two grieving sisters greet him.  Martha, who first meets Jesus, says, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” 

  If… the word that we are all familiar with.  “If God is real, why does He allow all this pain?  If God really cared, I would never have suffered this injury.  If God loves me, why did He allow me to be abused?  If God is love, why all this?  If, if, if… our deepest, most heart agonizing questions often are prefaced with the word if.  We question God.  We shake our fists at Him, saying” why”?

  Mary had the same resentment and anger.  She basically asked the same thing… “Where were you???”  Where were you when I was diagnosed with a terminal illness?  Where were you when I suffered through that loss of a loved one?  Where were you when I endured ridicule, abuse and pain? Where were you, God?  Why do you seem to sit silently on the bleachers while we are down in the arena being torn apart by life’s circumstances? How could you be loving?  How could you even care?  If you really cared, why didn’t you DO something???

  “Jesus wept.”

  The shortest verse in the Bible, and yet packed with far more meaning then we give it credit for.

  Finally, we see emotion; we see grief.  Jesus wept.  In the Greek translation, it means that Jesus shed real, wet teardrops.  This is one of the few instances in the Bible where Jesus shed tears.  Jesus was moved by the sorrow and pain he saw in the faces of his beloved friends.  Jesus wasn’t crying over Lazarus, for he knew what glorious miracle he would perform. No, instead, Jesus wept with those he loved.  He shed humanity’s infamous tears.  His divinity was shadowed as he wet his face with his own teardrops.  His eyes probably got swollen; his nose may have started running; his beard got wet.  He groaned and may have even wailed.   He was truly weeping.

  Jesus asked to be taken to the graveyard.  He went to the place where everyone had given up hope.  He found himself in the place where Mary and Martha’s broken dreams, shattered hopes and splintered trust were buried.  He was in the graveyard where they had given up.  Everything had died with Lazarus.  Nothing was left but a tombstone as a memorial of their loss.

  Where’s your graveyard?  Where is the place where you gave up, where you felt totally helpless and alone?  Where did you say, “I’m done.  I give up.  I can’t make it any longer.  I’m hopeless.  I just want to bury my dreams and hopes?”  This is the place where you felt utter despair and hopelessness.  Your trust was broken, your life was marred, your heart was scared, your dreams were shattered, your fire was extinguished, and your expectations were singed.  You gave up trying.  You threw your hands up in desperation and left your everything there in the grave, left with nothing but a gnawing and empty void.

  Jesus has asked to see your grave.  He knows your heartache and despair.  He knows what you’ve been through.  He’s seen it all.  He’s wept with you and cried with you.  He’s shed tears with you.  It’s not because of your buried dreams.  No, it’s just because he sees you in pain.  He sees you ready to drown in hopelessness. 

  And yet, he sees a better tomorrow.  He sees your dreams and hopes resurrected.  He knows that the things restored will be sweeter after the grief of losing them.  It’s at the time when you are ready to give up that he can resurrect your life.  He can’t resurrect anything if it wasn’t first dead. He wants to make it a glorious dawning for you.  He wants to take your life’s shattered bits and pieces and shape them back together.  He wants to heal your broken heart, mending it tenderly so that you can be a living testimony of his loving care.  He wants to take that which should have been ugly and make it something beautiful to behold.

Will you let him?

Reflections on Tomatoes

  You know something I learned while washing dishes and staring at the row of store-bought tomatoes lining our windowsill?  They all look the same.  They are the same shape, same color, same size, same spherical perfection.  If I were to study them, and someone would then mix them up, I probably wouldn't be able to put them in the same order that I had studied them in.  They look too much alike.

  Our garden tomatoes on the other hand... they each have their own personality.  Bug bites, large, small, round, oval, heart-shaped, just-plain-warped, red, greenish, orange, yellow... they're all different.  They are unique.  They aren't just a bunch of cookie cutter tomatoes, picked at the same time and ripened at the same time.  They are hand picked when they are at their prime - twisted or small, it doesn't matter.  And you know what?  They taste way better than those beautiful, perfect, store bought tomatoes.

  I also noted that although our garden tomatoes may have bug bites and be warped, we don't really care.  We know what they're made up of and where they're from.  We know that as soon as our tongue makes contact with the juicy red plumpness that we'll care less what the outside looked like. 

  Now, I'm not really a tomato expert, neither am I that fond of tomatoes (I used to sell them because I wouldn't eat them).  I can stand them in any form but their whole form.  But still, I must admit (with a little sheepishness) that our garden tomatoes far outpass the store bought beauties we are forced to buy when our gardnen's out of commission. 

What lesson did I draw from this?  I'm sure you can guess.

  There's a common notion that people pass along that goes something like, "the beauty's on the inside" or "inside beauty."  It stems from the realization that some people may not be beautiful on the outside but they have that winning personality, or the sweet disposition, or an upstanding character.  This is the "beauty" that we hint at in those phrases stated above.

  I know of several young ladies who have no "knock-out" type looks to speak of and yet they have won a place in my "good lookin' ladies" list. Why?  Because they have the "inward beauty of a meek and quiet spirit."  Their personalities and characters have made them beautiful.  They are the home-grown garden tomatoes.

  On the other hand, I know of another set of ladies who may have the bomb hair or the gorgeous eyes or the incredible facial features, and yet lack in the area of inward beauty.  And you know what?  They aren't on my list of "good lookin' ladies.  Why?  Because they may be snotty, whining, fussy, rude or even too girlie for me.  They become unpleasant to be around and thus their looks mean nothing.  They are the store-bought beauties.

  I can't stress enough how important it is for girls to focus on those things which are long lasting.  Who wants a perfect beauty if she's rotten or tasteless on the inside?  Establish your own sense of purpose, your own set of convictions.  Let the Holy Spirit do His work on your heart.  You may not be perfect on the outside, but if you've been working on the inside, your efforts will start showing.

  I'm always disgusted when I see girls trying so hard to look like everyone else.  They are just another perfect tomato sitting on the windowsill, unidentifiable when surrounded by their peers.  They dress like them, act like them, talk like them.  They are those girls that, when you get to know them, you realize it's all skin deep.  There's nothing substantial.  Just going to a county fair gives an overwhelming feeling of monotony.  Surrounded by tan babes wearing as little clothing as possible, sporting a flirty attitude, I rather feel like a sore spot in the crowd.  But is that a bad thing?

   When we have developed those things that are lasting, namely a godly character and all the wonderful things that come with it, we may look different, yet we have a beauty that no perfect store-bought "tomato" could ever possess.  It can't help but shine through.  We should take care to keep ourselves well tended, but it shouldn't be an obsession.  Rather, it will just be an enhancement of the inner beauty that we've labored for so earnestly.  That's the tasty part of the tomato.

  And acquire your own personality (be it sweet and kind!).  Don't mimic what everyone else does and says.  Have your own opinions, your own standards and your own religion.  Don't be a copycat.  They're miserable to have around.

  ...And don't be afraid to get dirty!  A little sweat didn't hurt nobody (sorry for the bad grammer there... just trying to add to the point).  Get your hands soiled, your hair messy, your neck sweaty.  It all adds to the character development! :)