In the book of John chapter 11 we read of the dead and resurrection of Lazarus and in the same chapter we find that Jesus, for the first time, wept. The Greek for the word “wept” in John 11:35 denotes quiet weeping like shedding a little tear, not that of mourning. But the question is, “Why did Jesus weep?” I will not attempt to answer that question in this post. But I will bring your attention to something else.
Lazarus must have been a really close friend of Jesus because the sisters of Lazarus sent words to Jesus saying, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” Jesus then said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
No one understood what Jesus meant. Lazarus then died and after four days, Jesus arrived at his place. Martha did not believe that Jesus could do the impossible. Jesus replied her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?”
Lazarus was then raised from the death.
A simple story but a great miracle with a lot of truths contained in it.
What was the reason behind Jesus’ raising of Lazarus? Was it because Lazarus was exceptionally special to Jesus and Jesus loved him more than any other people? Was it because Lazarus was a really good man and he did not deserve to die? Was it because the people were urging Jesus to raise him? No, no, no.
God wants to be glorified.
It was for God’s glory that the resurrection of the dead Lazarus be proved possible. It was for God’s glory that Jesus raised the dead. It was for God’s glory that Jesus did miracles to prove how powerful and loving God is. Whatever was done was done for the glory of God. Everything Jesus did, he had God in mind and he wanted God to take the glory. Before raising Lazarus, Jesus said, “I do this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe you sent me.”
Isn’t it our job then to say, “I do this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe you sent me.”
Yes, you are ambassadors of God and whatever you do must glorify God. Whatever that happens to us will happen because God knows better. God wants the glory. That is why certain things happen to certain people so that God’s power can be seen through our weaknesses.
Psalm 103:1
Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His Holy Name.
This post was inspired by Adrian Yap from what he had learnt from his time of struggle. May God see it fit to resurrect you for His glory.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment