Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill.  So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”  But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”  Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

John 11:1-6

I had not heard from my friend in a while.  He had been struggling with a variety of tangled issues and I am in no position to assess any of them, but to my untrained eye they appear mental, physical, emotional and spiritual.  His silence led me to go to where he was staying to check on him.  During the twenty-minute drive my mind wandered.  Would he be angry that I am barging into his day?  Would I find him dead or alive?  How will I respond?  How should I respond?  

My mind drifted to the brevity of life and the incomprehensible truth of eternity.  How brief is our life?  It is nothing compared to eternity, yet our choices during this mere instant of time determine our eternal destiny.  I wondered whether my friend knows Christ Jesus and whether Jesus knows Him, and whether I have done everything in my power to help him along the path toward Christ Jesus.  My thoughts shifted to our purpose here on earth.  God places His sons and daughters on earth for His glory, so that His glory might be revealed through them (see Isaiah 43:6-7).  Jesus appoints His followers “to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last” (John 15:16).  And the only way we can do that is through relationship with God through Christ Jesus, by abiding in Him, through His abiding in us, through His holy transformation of our spirits and souls.  If I am appointed to bear fruit, have I served my purpose in my friend’s life?

As my thoughts wandered, Jesus’ words set forth above came to mind.  Jesus was far away, in the wilderness across the Jordan River when He received word that His close friend Lazarus was ill.  Immediately upon receiving the message, Jesus says, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4).  The illness caused Lazarus to die, but after four days in the tomb Christ Jesus gave him new life, and God’s glory was indeed revealed to everyone who has eyes to see.

While driving with my mind wandering, given the events surrounding the situation, I wanted to interpret the passage coming to mind as a promise regarding my friend’s life.  But I knew it was not.  It struck me then and it continues to strike me now as a promise regarding Lazarus, and as to us, a message regarding God’s sovereignty and the revelation of His glory.  God has all power and all authority everywhere.  He is in charge, in control, sovereign, and while it might be easy for us to hear the words and comprehend intellectually the thoughts they represent, it is an entirely different thing to believe in our hearts and souls that they are true for us, here, today, in this present darkness, as we fight our current battles.  I trust that God has the situation, that He is in control and that His glory will be revealed through it and that I need to let go, but what does it mean to let go while allowing God to bear fruit through us?  Jesus appoints us to go and bear fruit, which requires action, yet we must also let go and allow God to act.  What does this mean?  How should I act without getting in His way?  

Pondering the events of the day and the questions continuing to swirl, I turn to God’s holy word.  Over and over and over God assures us that He is in control, that He is sovereign, that He indeed has this situation in hand.  Whatever we are facing, God’s got this.  He is in control.  

As Paul preaches to the crowds in Athens, he describes God as the Creator of everything and the giver of life and breath who is involved in the world, saying,

 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.  From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him – though indeed he is not far from each one of us.  For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’  Acts 17:24-28

God is not only the holy, all-powerful, Creator of everything, He is also continually involved.  He gives life and breath, and He is actively involved in the world, setting times of existence and boundaries.  He is living God who is involved.  He is sovereign and active.  The psalmist writes,

For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.  How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  I try to count them—they are more than the sand;  I come to the end – I am still with you.  Psalm 139:13-18

But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.”  My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.  Psalm 31:14-15

God formed each of us and He wrote each of our days before we existed.  He is truly all powerful, all knowing and in control.  Through the prophet Isaiah, God tells Hezekiah that He will add fifteen years to Hezekiah’s life, confirming that God indeed has power over life and death:

 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah:  “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of your ancestor David: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.  I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and defend this city.  Isaiah 38:4-6

The prophet Daniel interprets the writing on the wall to Belshazzar, and as part of his explanation he reminds Belshazzar that God has power over life and death saying,

And you, Belshazzar his son, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this!  You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven! The vessels of his temple have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know; but the God in whose power is your very breath, and to whom belong all your ways, you have not honored.  Daniel 5:22-23

Each breath we take is a gift from God.  Every moment we have on earth is a gift from God.  I ponder it all seeing two sides of the coin.  I see God’s sovereign power and grace and control, knowing that He’s got it.  

I also see the great responsibility we share as Christ Jesus sends us to go and bear fruit.  Life is so incredibly short, what am I doing with the gift of life that I have?  Our purpose is to glorify God on earth.  How am I doing that today?  Recognizing the brevity of life, particularly in the context of eternity, and the truth that our eternal destiny is dependent on our relationship with Christ Jesus while we are alive on earth, what am I doing to help everyone know Christ Jesus?

Balancing God’s sovereignty and His call on my life, I pray for His wisdom, discernment and enlightening of my mind so that I see how to help without getting in God’s way, how to help and not cause harm, how to serve God’s will and not my own.  I pray to know God’s will and my role here on earth going and acting in accordance with it.  I pray that He does indeed use me to bear His fruit.  I invite you to join me in my prayer.

May you abide in Christ Jesus, may He abide in you, may the world come to know that Jesus is Lord, and may the world know God through Christ Jesus as His glory is revealed through you.  Amen.