Jesus the Resurrection and the Life

Read John 11: 17-28
 
John 11:20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house.
 
I don’t blame Mary for staying in the house. I would have been ticked off, too. She may have been thinking something like this: “After all, Jesus claimed to love Martha and Lazarus and me. But he sure took his time to get to here. Where was he? What was he doing? He has healed so many people, people he didn’t even know. Why didn’t he come to make Lazarus well? Where was Jesus when we needed him?”
    Yes, Mary. Where is Jesus when we need him? Several years ago, a friend died of cancer. Three kids, a husband left alone. No wife, no mother, for them. Their loved one gone forever, lying in the cemetery across the highway from the house they had just built. I’m with you on this one, Mary. Where is Jesus when you need him the most? Are you really the “resurrection and the life”?
    I was confused about how to answer that until I consider what “resurrection and the life” really means.
    Jesus is so much more than about the here and now. “What have you done for me lately, Jesus?” is exactly the wrong way to think of what he offers to us. Even Lazarus would not remain alive forever. Yes, he was healed, made alive again, but he did experience a permanent bodily death.
    The eternal life is the gift we receive. It is the gift we must dwell on because everything – I stress “everything” else is temporary.
    Debbie is gone from her family and from this earth. But she has received the glorious gift of the “resurrection and the life”. Yes, Debbie’s disease did not turn out as we desired. But her Lord had given her the gift of life beyond all time.
    Are you dejected, disappointed and feeling a little miffed about Jesus’ seemingly uncaring attitude toward you or your loved ones? Remember, he came from his throne in Heaven to offer you a home in Heaven. Focus on and celebrate his remarkable gift. It lasts forever.
   
Resurrection Truth: life is forever in Jesus.