Do you really believe it?

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” – John 11:25-26

Jesus has said some pretty crazy things in his ministry.  He’s done some things that shook people up.  But this one just might take the cake.  He stalls on his way to heal Lazarus by doing other things.  And then when he actually gets there Lazarus is dead – and I mean good and dead!  He’d been dead for days.  He was dead enough to make a stench.  

Now he looks at Lazarus’ grieving family and tells them that it will be alright.  Then he says, I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoa!  Wait a minute!  You mean that you stalled and were a few days late and now you tell me that real life is found in you!  This is absurd. 

But that’s not the biggest thing Jesus says!  He then asks a very pointed question – Do you believe this?  He says the same thing to you and me today.  He knows that we go through some pretty crazy things in life, but the question he asks never changes.  Do you believe this? 

Jesus would eventually show how he was the epitome of life and resurrection when on Easter he broke out of the tomb and freed not only himself but all who would follow him in faith.  Now the same promise is for you and me.  Believe.  Believe not in a book, not in a sermon, not in a death, not in a good guy.  Believe in an event – the resurrection.  That’s what set Jesus apart from every other world religious guru that would ever walk this earth.  He’s the only one that rose! 

And it’s that very resurrection that guarantees our resurrection as well.  Do you believe it?  Do you believe that Jesus died AND rose?  Do you believe that Jesus’ resurrection is the thing that not only allowed Lazarus to raise but also secured our resurrection?  Do you believe?  Do you really believe? 

Lord, today we want to believe. We want to cling to the promise of your resurrection.  We want nothing more than to live in the certainty of our resurrection right here and now.  Lord help us.  AMEN

Death Still Stings

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) 

Don’t misunderstand this Beatitude. Many have misinterpreted this to make it sound like Jesus would go to a funeral and say:

“It’s all good!”

“Don’t worry; be happy!”

“Turn that frown upside down!”

That’s not what Jesus would do. He wouldn’t pretend like death doesn’t hurt. He would acknowledge that it’s ok to be sad, and that tears are appropriate. Death is painful. Death has nothing to do with life. So death hurts and death still stings.

“Blessed are those who mourn” does not mean quit mourning. Press release: mourning is acceptable. Tears are not a sign of faithlessness. Grief is understandable. Granted, God doesn’t want us “to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)  But, it’s not something we can just gloss over or ignore.

Jesus mourned. Two examples…. First, at Lazarus’ funeral, Jesus mourns over a close friend. The shortest verse in the Bible says it all, “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) Also, when Jesus pronounced judgment on the city of Jerusalem, he expressed his grief with these words: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37, emphasis added) It takes a lot of insensitivity to not hear His grief there. 

Jesus mourned over the death of His friends and over the destruction of His enemies. Both grieved Him enough that He was willing to die so to remove death’s sting. The Beatitudes show us that we follow Jesus wherever He goes for us. Since He mourned, His disciples will mourn with Him.

In fact, as we follow Jesus we may feel death’s sting even more acutely than others, because we will become more and more aware of just how out of place death is in our lives. We will develop a deep longing for the day death is destroyed.

While we mourn with Jesus, with our blessed Savior we will also be blessed – even in the middle of our mourning. We will long for the day of comfort that this Beatitude promises. We will long for the Day of Resurrection when “the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’” 

Right now, death still stings. Tears fill our eyes. But, those tears will be wiped away. (Isaiah 25:8; Revelation 21:4) Don’t grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. But don’t forget that, for now, it’s ok to grieve. 

Lord - reassure us that mourning is ok.  Help us to find our comfort in you and in your resurrection.  Amen. 

Be Mournful

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  Matthew 5:4  NIV

According to the dictionary mourn means:  be sad over loss; to feel or express sorrow or grief over misfortune, loss or anything regretted; deplore; to utter in a sorrowful manner.

What first comes to your mind when you hear or read the word, mourn?  For me my first thought is death or loss of life.  We mourn when a parent, friend, sibling or relative dies.  We also mourn when a pet dies.  We mourned 9 years ago during the events of 9/11.  We mourn when a relationship has ended.   We even mourn when we, a relative, or a friend is diagnosed with a terminal disease or a chronic condition.  When we mourn we may sob, weep, cry, or scream.  We may even experience a feeling of helplessness and sometimes hopelessness.  We may even feel angry and mad at God for taking something so precious away from us . We are devastated and aren’t sure if we can continue.  We’re angry because our lives or the life of someone else isn’t going to be the same.

But do you mourn when you have hurt someone with your words or actions. Do you mourn when you are disobedient to God?  Do you mourn when you have been sinful and have not followed God’s word?  What about when you lie, cheat or fib.   Do you have the same feeling of helplessness, hopelessness, feeling of being angry or mad?  Hopefully the answer is yes.

Mourning indicates the pain and the grief and the anxieties of the soul over some loss, often the death of a loved one.  But it could be over the loss of a valued life.  Or it could be over the loss of possessions, or status, or health.  People mourn over any disaster or tribulation.  And in times of mourning they look for hope. 

We should be mournful for being disobedient to God.  “Those who mourn”  speaks of those who express deep sorrow over sin, or those who repent from their sins.  The freedom found in the forgiveness of sins and the joy of eternal salvation is the “comfort” of those who repent.

This verse and all the beatitudes tells us what our attitude should be and should be which is used to guide us in our daily lives.  Each one starts with the word blessed.  One of the meanings of blessed is happy or joyful.  Each of the “blessed” statements describes a person who puts God and other’s interest above his or her own interests.  We can not be blessed if we live selfishly.

If we are humble and appreciate that all of our gifts and blessings come from God, we grow in love and gratitude for Jesus Christ our Savior.  But this can only produce mourning and regret over our own sins and the sins of this world, for we have hurt the one who has been so good to us.  One also mourns for the suffering of others.  But we are comforted in knowing that God forgives and we will have eternal life with him.

Dear Lord, I humble myself before you and I ask to be lifted up.  Comfort and forgive me.  Amen

A Time to Mourn and a Time to Dance

He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.- Revelation 21:1-4

During our trip to New Orleans for the National Youth Gathering we took a number of tours of the city.  One of our guides shared with us their unique style of conducting funerals known as a Jazz funeral.  The first part of a Jazz funeral is slightly eccentric but familiar.  Mourners march from the church or home to the grave site while a band plays an appropriately somber dirge.

Once the dead has been buried the atmosphere does a complete 180 during the second part known as the Second Line.  The solemn music is replaced by loud, upbeat, raucous music as participants dance to a gathering place, joyfully celebrating the life of their loved one bringing to life the classic verse from Ecclesiastes “there is a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

Mourning the loss of family and friends is to be expected.  What I love about the Jazz Funeral is that while they take the time to mourn they also provide a great opportunity during the Second Line to revel and take heart in the message Jesus shares in the gospel of Matthew, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.”  And Jesus loves to comfort you…He has conquered death on the cross, He forgives His children for their sins.   And how great is it that even in the midst of the suffering of this world we know that the Second Line is coming when there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, but only joy and dancing with our fellow believers and Jesus for eternity!

Prayer: Jesus help us in our times of mourning and wipe away our tears.  Today I thank you for the comfort of your forgiveness and love, and rejoice that I get to spend eternity with you and my family of believers.

Snickers Really Satisfies

I love Snickers bars.  They are really good.  Admittedly I have a bit of a sweet tooth so that might have something to do with it.  One thing that always intrigued me was the statement on those Snickers commercials, Snicker Really Satisfies. I don’t think that’s true.  I’ve had those candy bars before and I can easily walk away wanting more than just one.  And what’s more – I will grow hungry again in a pretty short time.  They don’t really satisfy.  

So if Snickers don’t satisfy, then what does?  According to Jesus, when we eat of the bread of life we will be satisfied.  We will have our fill.  We will be able to appease our appetite and have the strength to go through the day.  But what is the bread of life?

Honestly the bread of life is something that we don’t have to chew and swallow.  It’s something that we do ingest however.  The bread of life is the very word and promise of God.  As we eat of the word of God, we are satisfied – not because we have everything we want but because we are content with what we have.  Jesus is teaching us in these verses to hunger for the right things.  He wants us to hunger for him.  Jesus calls us to fill ourselves with the things that are of him, not the things that are of this world. 

We can mask our hunger with a million different things, but it is only when we hunger and thirst for the grace of God, for a deeper faith in his promises, for a hope that is built on nothing less than Jesus – then, and only then, will we know what it means to be satisfied. 

May we be satisfied today.  May we have everything we need.  May we have nothing that will distract us from following Christ.  Lord give us our daily bread.   Help us hunger and thirst for your word.  We want to be satisfied with your promises.  Amen