Do You Believe This?

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 (ESV)

Read John 11:1-44

         This is Jesus’s response to Martha after her brother, Lazarus, has died, has been dead for four days. Jesus, both their friend and healer, the one who has made the blind see, the deaf hear, and healed the sick, was called four days earlier while he was still alive, and yet did not come. He came eventually yes, but by then it was too late, Lazarus had already died. You can hear the anguish, the accusation in Martha’s voice as she says to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 21). 

         Don’t you feel this way sometimes? Lord, if you would’ve been here, this wouldn’t have happened. God, if you would just DO something, you could fix this. Why aren’t you doing anything? Where are you? Sometimes in the midst of our grief, our pain, God feels far away. We question His timing, His lack of action, which makes us feel as though he doesn’t care. And then, just like Martha, to protect ourselves from the disappointment, we convince ourselves that God’s promises are only for the future. “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (v. 24).  A truth, yes, but one given in the form of a platitude. Said in disbelief that God has something for us right now.

         What words do you find yourself using to smooth over disappointment? Is it, “God is good” or, “Everything happens for a reason?” Or even, “They are in a better place”? Again, not that these things are untrue, but we tend to use them in a shallow way to put a band-aid on our gaping wounds. Jesus breaks through these facades by saying, “I am the resurrection and the life” (v.25, emphasis mine). In other words, “The thing that you have been waiting for, hoping for, it’s me.”

He IS life. God isn’t just someone who can grant our wishes and heal our wounds, but He Himself is the life we seek. He brings resurrection from the dead, both physically, and also spiritually. Sometimes we get frustrated with God when he doesn’t seem to be solving our problems for us, but we are missing that He is right there in front of us, offering Himself. Life is available to us today in the person of Jesus Christ.

Do you believe this?