With the death of my husband and the hope of a miracle throughout his illness, there is an account in the bible to which I can relate – raising Lazarus from the dead. There are many spiritual Truths and teachings in this narrative, but I want to focus on Martha and the traumatic experience she encountered through the situation.
Martha and her siblings, Mary and Lazarus, were part of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples. He chose that family to share in powerful experiences with Him. Jesus loved and cherished them. He mentions all three by name – they were His friends.
We are first introduced to Martha when she invites Jesus and His disciples into her home. Martha was a strong, outspoken woman; a hard-working servant who supported the cause of Christ. Often, she found herself carrying the burden within her acts of service, full of worry, and troubled about many things. Still, she loved Jesus and had faith in His abilities. After all, she had witnessed Him perform many miracles and believed that God would give Jesus whatever He would ask.
While Jesus and His disciples were out in the mission field, Lazarus fell sick. I am not surprised that it was this take-charge woman who sent messengers to inform Jesus, asking Him to come quickly for the sake of Lazarus. But to Martha’s disappointment, time ran out and Lazarus died while she was waiting for Jesus to arrive.
Martha and her sister buried their brother. The pain was almost too much: it did not seem fair. But even in her overwhelming grief, she kept watching for Jesus. In the waiting, her spirit became conflicted between hope and doubt. Why did her Savior ignore her petition for help? Where was He? The rejection and uncertainty that must have gripped her heart.
Lazarus lay in the tomb for 4 days and I can imagine with every passing moment bitterness started to creep into Martha’s heart. Questions were still growing and mounting when she finally heard Jesus approaching from afar. She wasted no time, running to meet Him, voicing her sorrowful complaint, fueled with anger. She fully expected Jesus to show up and heal her brother and she made that known to Him.
Understanding the fragile human heart, Jesus immediately began to interact with Martha, making one promise, a few statements, and presenting one question. The promise was that Lazarus would rise again, which she misunderstood. Jesus redirected Martha’s thinking to the point at hand: I am the resurrection; I am the source of life; and believing is the key to everything. The paramount question was simple in theory, but difficult to digest. Jesus asked her, “Do you believe this?”
In the midst of their intense interaction, a large crowd was gathering around them. Jesus asked where they had laid Lazarus, so the crowd systematically started moving to the tomb where he was buried. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone.” Jesus said.
This is where the miracle happens – where Lazarus is raised from the dead and comes out of the tomb when Jesus calls him by name. This miracle was for the glory of God so that the Son of God might be glorified through it. But what about Martha? Did the experience leave a piece of her heart dead even though her body was fully alive?
Jesus is deeply moved and grieved by our pain and suffering. He is drawn to our broken heart and concerned about our doubts when hopes are dashed. He knows the dangers that result from unresolved pain that can permanently stain and harden our heart. If we are listening, He will bring us to a place of redemption and resurrection as He calls out our name.
The Martha in this story is me. I was worried and troubled about many things while waiting for Jesus to show up and heal my husband, fully aware of His Power to do so, but grieved when I buried him in the ground instead. I had to lay down my expectations; redirect my misunderstandings to the Lord; and believe the promises of God. Like Martha, I stood with my Messiah, the Son of God, throughout my pain and suffering.
But I am not only Martha in this story, I am also Lazarus. I answered Jesus’ question – I do believe that He is the Resurrection and the Source of Life. I heard Him call my name, asking me to roll away the stone so the death entombed in my heart could be loosed and I could walk free. Like Lazarus, I am the miracle in my story. I am the one who walked out of the tomb.
The Source of Life is standing at the opening of your entombed heart.
Will you roll the stone away?
Remember when phones were actually used as a phone? Communicating is essential for mankind and before telecommunications, we relied upon primitive ways to keep in touch, some of which were cave paintings, smoke signals, drums, and homing pigeons.
“Pass the salt” is a common phrase in America. Most of us recognize this compound as the seasoning to alter the taste of our food; preserve the shelf-life of our perishables; or de-ice our winter roads.
I was taking my trash to the curb for pickup at 5:00 am and was stopped in my tracks by the vivid display in the skies above. Boasting its presence was a brilliant sliver of moon, with the full circle barely visible, but clearly staged. Next to it was a star glaring brightly, the two heavenly hosts striking a pose against the black sky while stunning their audience.