Too Late

                 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; (John 11:25)

 

Today’s verse comes from the account of the resurrection of Lazarus. I’ll put a side note here about Mary and Martha’s complaint that if Jesus had been there, Lazarus would have been healed. Yes, but they and the disciples would not have had the reminder that Jesus could raise the dead as close to His crucifixion, to remind them even though they didn’t remember. He even did it four days after Lazarus had been entombed, while He only took three to leave His own. (We need to remember that!)

But, continuing (at least in part) with the thoughts of the past couple of days, we often find it easy to be impatient with God. We want Him to heal, fix, and change, preferably now. And when now doesn’t happen, we’re tempted to add our voices to Mary and Marthat’s, or to the world’s.

But Jesus didn’t arrive until it was “too late.” God didn’t promise Abram and Sarai, or Zechariah and Elizabeth a son until it was “too late.” Abram didn’t receive the land he was promised until more than four hundred years after it was promised. All the world wasn’t ultimately blessed through him until nearly two thousand years later. Those might be considered “too late” by some. But our “too late” brings God joy because “now” would be too easy.  He has something better in mind for us.