John 11:5 ESV – Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Lazarus is famous for one pretty impressive thing – Jesus raised him from the dead! But while we are all familiar with the story of Martha complaining to Jesus that she was doing all the work and most know about Mary pouring perfume on the Lord’s feet, we don’t really know much about Lazarus. In the Bible we do not even hear a single word he said. When we first meet Lazarus, it is at his sister Martha’s home, not his own. Later, after his resurrection his friends hold the party at a leper’s house named Simon. We don’t know if Lazarus is married, has children or any other detail about him, except that he was sick and died. His was a life that would not have given rise to an impressive resume by anyone’s standards!
But in spite of his unimpressive life, we learn one very important thing from our silent friend Lazarus. That single truth is that we don’t need to impress others to be loved by Jesus Christ. We don’t need the best grades, a good job or a wonderful family for Him to cherish us. None of these details matters more to Him than the simple fact that He has chosen to love us as His child and that, just like Lazarus He will call us from the grave to be with Him forever!
God loves each of us as if there were only one of us – Saint Augustine
Now, Laban may have been a lousy father-in-law to Jacob, but he was a bang-up grandpa. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in you know where, that Jacob was taking his grandkids away without Laban having a chance to shower them with kisses one more time! I understand Laban a bit because over the last week we have been hosting our son, daughter-in-law and five grandchildren in our not so huge house. Though it was pretty cramped quarters, we hated to see them leave yesterday. Because they live so far away, we make the most of every moment we have together. The kids loved going with us to the beach, the park and the community pool, but I treasure most our morning walks.
Whether it is making cookies together or lining up for the Good Humor man, each of us who are grandparents appreciate different kinds of little moments. They are precious, not because of what we are doing, but because of who we are doing them with. Jesus taught us that God is our Almighty Father in Heaven, but in some ways, God is also like a grandfather, who treasures spending small, not so mighty moments with us. I learned a little of this one recent morning walking by a pond with our grandchildren. We had stopped while I explained the difference between an Egret and a Heron who were standing on the bank. Then as I cautioned them about not getting too close to the edge, I noticed a tiny head popping up above the water about ten feet from shore. “Look a turtle!” I said excitedly. I had seen other turtles sunning themselves near there on the grass before, but they had always slipped quickly into the water on my approach. But that day to my amazement, Mr. (or Mrs.) Turtle made a beeline for our granddaughter. It eagerly climbed up out of the pond, then waddled right up to her!
Christian and Madeline meeting Mr. Turtle.
Whether this was someone’s lost pet turtle or just the result of people feeding it breadcrumbs I do not know. What I suspect, is that God knew we would be walking by that spot at that exact hour and orchestrated a special event. His heart delights watching us as we pause to admire the tiniest detail of creation. He isn’t just the God of the gigantic universe; He is also the God who enjoys surprising us with small demonstrations of His goodness. Just like Laban God hunts us down, not to destroy us, but to embrace us and send us on with His blessing. Why not slow down long enough this morning to allow Him to amaze you with what He has in store for today?
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve but believe.” John 20:27 ESV
According to the website L-Tron; photographic evidence that is admissible in court includes, “relevancy, accuracy, authenticity and originality. ” That means showing the time, date and location of the image. Some say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but my recent project has made me realize how temporary pictures are. Over the last month I have worked my way through thousands of family photographs in an effort to restore and preserve them in digital format before they are lost forever to darkening, fading and falling apart. I see the young faces of my parents and grandparents and snapshots of our children at play, and it reminds me of how quickly things change.
The Apostle Thomas had some doubts about the reliability of the eyewitness testimony of His friends. Thomas asked for something more reliable. He didn’t want just words. He demanded to be able to touch the Lord’s wounds for himself before he would believe. Maybe Thomas worried that his friends were just imagining things in their grief or that they had invented a story in order to offer false comfort. People over the ages call him “Doubting Thomas” as if he were different or that the others had never doubted. But the truth is that the only thing separating Thomas from the other guys on that room was experience. He had faithfully followed Jesus just as they had for three years. He had seen Jesus multiply bread, walk on water and wash their feet in the upper room. In fact, the only detail that separated Thomas from his friends was that he had missed being with them when Jesus first appeared.
Are you looking for something substantial to base your faith in this morning? Are you wondering like Thomas why others seem to have a vital link to the Savior, and you feel disconnected? You are in good company. Peter doubted, when he denied Jesus and again when he heard the women report they had seen the Lord. James and John doubted it was Jesus when they saw Him walking on the water and again at HIs first resurrection appearance until Jesus started eating some bread and fish! We all have our doubts, but the good news is that we have a Savior who knows our doubts, loves us anyway and comes to each of us in different ways. He may walk alongside of you while you are grieving or appear at dawn after a long sleepless night of fruitless fishing. He may look like the gardener or appear in a dream while you are in a storm. He knows that we need evidence even more reliable than even photographs. He loves us and comes to show us His wounds, when we need Him most. But Jesus also challenges us to choose to hold on to faith and to let go of doubts. We can’t hold onto both. Yes, Thomas doubted for a moment, but He spent the rest of His life believing and even dying for His Lord. Don’t give up if you find yourself struggling with your faith. Just remember that doubts are only temporary, but faith in Jesus is forever!
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