“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the
resurrection and the life.
He
who believes in me will live, even if he dies; and whoever lives
and believes in me will never die. Do you
believe this?’”
John 11:25-26 (NIV)
Jesus arrived at Bethany after Lazarus had died. His sisters
Mary and Martha were grieving and upset.
Because of her grief, Martha spoke harshly to Jesus. “Lord,
if you’d been here my brother would not have died.” The discussion continued.
Martha believed God would do what Jesus asked.
She also believed her brother would rise again in the
resurrection at the final day. He had to help Martha understand His role in
God’s plan.
The words of our focus verse are read at Christian funerals
and memorial services. They bring comfort to those who grieve. The question
Jesus asks Martha is one we all have to ask ourselves and answer with honesty.
In our 21st Century world we, as a society, have not always
dealt with this issue of what we believe or to what degree. Our attitude is ‘What’s in it for me?” “What
about me?”
Overall, we have ignored the needs of our brothers and
sisters, our neighbors, the ones we pass on the streets. We wait for the racy
tabloids to come out with the latest scandal or the dirt on those who have held
our attention in the media. We seem to thrive on the misfortunes of others.
Only God, through Jesus Christ can forgive us for our behavior.
This is an excellent question. I think we are so saturated in a "me centered" society that we lose sight or just don't always get this and other Biblical concepts. I pray the Lord would continue to show us the wonderful truths in His word in this way.
ReplyDeleteKaren: Thank you for stopping in. We see this 'me' attitude more and more among those the youger generation put on a pedistal. We should be ashamed of ourselves for not nipping this early in their lives. Instead of 'me' centeredness, we should see God centeredness, then 'other' centeredness.
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