God and me

God used the sorrowful death and then raising to new life of Lazarus for His glory, that the people in the story and that we may believe, that He could show that He is the resurrection and life, that those who will believe in Him will live.  The sisters were heart broken and disappointed in Jesus, they expected more of Him than He gave. He seemed to be deliberately absent even after they sent Him word of Lazarus serious condition.  The words spilled out, Where were you Jesus?  If only you had come he wouldn't have died. (don't you love us?). . . They didn't realize what we know on this side of the account. God had a greater purpose. He also identified with their sorrow. He wept openly, He sorrowed, feeling their pain as His own. Then Christ called Lazarus forth from the tomb, and removed the grave clothes from Lazarus face.

In this story it becomes obvious that God orchestrates circumstances for a better good. He uses things we don't understand. . . that we might believe, that we will see the glory of God revealed. We  often resemble Mary and Martha in John 11. We don't understand why Jesus doesn't come when He could come, could change the situation but He doesn't, could help us by fixing the problem. We question why our pain and broken hearts are allowed to take place. And then, much later we realize that God's glory is revealed through miracles of a different sort. He is in the business of resurrecting our lives from places of pain and brokenness--if we will only choose to let Him.  Action, a decision is required of us, a choice is made before we can get to the other side and see what He is accomplishing in and through us. We respond much as Lazarus responded, risen from the dead into new life.

Sometimes we have buried our pain so deep inside of us that we don't even know the dead morbid state of our inner beings. We are given a free will in any given circumstance. At times we may make a choice to be bitter, resentful, or angry--which imprisons us like Lazarus in his grave clothes. We will need Jesus to walk into newness of life with the grace of God in us and His miraculous life creating a new us, the grave clothes hanging at our sides, never to bind us again.