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Let Down for the Greater Good


Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
               Has God ever let you down?  I have no doubt the answer is "yes." At some point, you wanted something. You may have been desperate. You went to God and...nothing. The person died, the marriage ended, the trial continued. Jesus was away from Bethany and heard that his friend, Lazarus, was sick. Instead of going to him and healing him, Jesus didn't leave for two days. By the time He got to Bethany, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. In Jewish culture at that time, once people were dead for three days, they were considered really dead, so Lazarus might have been said to be 133% dead.
      Both sisters told Jesus that if He'd been there, they believed Lazarus wouldn't have died. They believed He could heal the sick. Even at this point, they believed that Lazarus would be raised in a general resurrection at the Last Day, but that didn't address the pain on that day. Jesus had not been there. They might have been trying not to blame Him, but if He'd been there, things would have turned out differently.
         They would have turned out very differently. They would have been less. Sure, the family would have believed that Jesus could heal the sick. They already believed that. They would not have seen the miracle of restored life. This was such a big deal that the Jewish officials who had wanted to arrest Jesus before decided that enough was enough.
        Jesus let Mary, Martha and Lazarus down, in order to do something even greater, and in order to accomplish a greater good.

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On the Calendar:

March 13      Daylight Savings Begins
Birthday of Joseph Priestley (discovered oxygen)

 

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