“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.’ After saying these things, he said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’
“Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’” [1]
Human nature demands immediate answers to the pressures we are compelled to face. We are uncomfortable at the thought that we may be required to wait for God to answer when we have pleaded for His intervention delivering us from whatever crisis we are facing. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that we are prone to demanding an immediate intervention. We live in a world that expects things to happen now. I suppose it is inevitable that we would be disquieted when things don’t move according to our expectation for quick resolutions. In a world with immediate news reports flooding our monitors via the Internet, microwave meals, instant Soda Stream drinks, it is almost impossible not to have expectations of immediate answers to our pleas. Should we be forced to wait on God, we question whether the Lord even loves us!
We don’t relish the thought of being required to endure difficulties. We can’t imagine experiencing opposition, or that we will be called upon to experience pain. We don’t want to hurt; we want a pain-free life with all the pleasures we expect to accompany that pain-free life. We are conditioned by our world to expect that anyone who loves us would be immediately available to help us in time of need.
The problem with this thinking is that we make ourselves the centre of our world. So, we conclude that if God loves us He will be immediately available to bail us out when we are experiencing problems. One major problem with our thinking in this manner is that we begin to imagine that we can dictate how God is to answer. We certainly aren’t prepared to permit ourselves to believe that suffering may lie within the will of God. If we suffer, we begin to think that God is angry with us.
Vast movements within the religious world teach that God will not allow the one with great faith to experience suffering. Grief should not attend our way, according to the theology taught among many religious movements. Consequently, it is a relatively common perception among many Christians that if they are experiencing sorrow, if they are passing through deep waters, then God has deserted them, He has ceased caring for them. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Even a cursory reading of the account before us in this message will confirm that sometimes our suffering is for God’s glory.
A SICK MAN AND HIS WORRIED SISTERS — “Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill’” [JOHN 11:1-3].
We are introduced to Lazarus in this eleventh chapter of the Gospel of John. Don’t confuse this man with the poor soul Jesus spoke of as suffering in this life so horribly in Luke’s Gospel. This Lazarus is identified as a man whom Jesus loved. Lazarus was a close friend of the Master. Consequently, Lazarus had two sisters, Martha and Mary, who were also close friends to Jesus.
We do meet Martha and Mary in the tenth chapter of Luke’s Gospel. The two women are distinguished by their response to Jesus. Martha is a doer, an energetic woman who is conscientious about proper etiquette and appearance. On one occasion when Jesus visited in their home, we are told that “Martha was distracted with much serving” [see LUKE 10:40a]. In fact, the perceived need to be serving as a good hostess is sufficiently problematic that she pleads with Jesus to rebuke her sister, Mary. The manner in which she voices her concern seems to imply that Jesus is aiding Mary to neglect what is really important. She says, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me” [LUKE 10:40b]. We see Martha complaining, “Lord, Mary is lazy; and You’re not helping the situation! You are letting her slide!”
You will recall that Jesus redirected Martha’s view of life and the activities associated with our lives by revealing what was truly important. “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” [LUKE 10:41-42].
This is Martha and Mary—a woman concerned with appearances and her sister who is denoted for her desire to hear the Master. It is only in John’s Gospel that we are introduced to their brother. And though he is the centre of the pericope we are studying today, we really know little about Lazarus other than the fact of his friendship with Jesus.
Therefore, in this text we are introduced to a sick man and his two worried sisters. From the introduction we are provided, I’m led to believe that the parents of these three siblings were dead. The sisters appear to have been unmarried, and hence, living with their brother. Perhaps Lazarus was the oldest of the three and he supported his sisters. It would have been unusual for a woman to be unsupported by a male relative in that day. If the sisters were unmarried, it would lead me to suggest that they were young by our standards. I would guess them to be teenagers, perhaps no more than fourteen or fifteen years are age. People assumed responsibilities as adults much earlier than we do.
What distinguishes these siblings from most of the people living in Judea in that day is that they are identified as friends of Jesus of Nazareth. What endears them to us who read of them today is that they are not merely friends with Jesus—they are more than friends; we are informed that Jesus loved them. To be certain, Jesus loves the world enough that He would give His life for fallen mankind, but the text tells us that the love of the Master was focused on Lazarus and his two sisters. They are part of the Family of God, and though we are separated by millennia from them, they share something with us that we too often take for granted—Jesus loved them, just as He loves us!
Friendship with Jesus, though rare in the broader scope of things, is not some difficult issue that is impossible to attain. Many people knew of Jesus in that day, but few could be said to have known Him. And yet, Jesus presented Himself as a “friend of sinners” [see LUKE 7:34]. Perhaps you will recall Jesus’ words at the time He was preparing His disciples for His Passion. If so, then you will remember that Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” [JOHN 15:12-13]. Undoubtedly, you remember the Master’s command that His disciples must love one another; and you will no doubt remember the affirmation concerning that one willing to surrender his life for those whom he calls his friends.
It is the words which follow that will prove to be important for our study this day. Jesus continued by saying, “You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you” [JOHN 15:14-16].
I am encouraged to discover that Jesus identifies those who obey Him as His friends! This includes those who are obedient even to this day. What is the context in which Jesus made this assertion? Is it not that those who are obedient to the Master are those who love one another? That becomes obvious as Jesus issues one final statement, saying, “These things I command you, so that you will love one another” [JOHN 15:17].
It is apparent that this business of loving one another is neglected in this day. Perhaps modern Christians have become confused about how love is demonstrated. Here’s what should be apparent from even a casual reading of Scripture. Love is not demonstrated through avoiding one another. Love is revealed when we invest ourselves in one another. Love is not revealed through merely mouthing words. Love is revealed in how we interact with one another. Love is seen when we build one another, when we comfort one another, when we console one another. We are taught in the Word, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” [1 JOHN 3:18].
For over a year our world has experienced an unmitigated tragedy. We were told that we needed to lock down for two weeks to “flatten the curve” of the pandemic caused by the Wuhan virus. We are now in a second year of lockdown. Fear is rampant in society; even among the churches, fear seems to reign. One of the serious consequences of government intrusion into the sacred realm of the Faith is that churches ceased looking to the Lord for guidance and began to look to man. We are fragmented in expressing love for one another. One church advocates continued lockdown; another advocates defiance of governmental intrusion. Both pronounce anathemas against each other.
And what is happening at the level of the churches is witnessed as well even in individual Christian relationships. A church member knowing that because Church A is meeting and her church isn’t, concludes that the leaders of her church must be in error. Another church member is aware that Church B has continued to try to meet the conditions mandated by governmental dicta, though some within his church agitate to meet together, then he is witnessing a godless group that doesn’t care about his health. What is happening is the destruction of love for and trust of fellow Christians.
One of the great tragedies for the churches during these COVID lockdowns has been the fact Christians have been embarrassed to discover that the opportunities for showing love to one another could be set aside so easily. I’m so very grateful that within our own congregation, members went out of the way to maintain contact, sought out ways to reveal love for one another. However, among the churches are a few individuals who are hesitant to expose themselves to one another. Some were not particularly enthusiastic about being the church, and the lockdown allowed them to avoid assuming responsibility to minister to fellow believers or to testify to the lost. Perhaps their love for others was shallow, or perhaps their fear of violating governmental orders was greater than their love for the brotherhood of believers. What I find to be gratifying is that most of our people worked hard to find ways to fulfil the command of Scripture to build up one another, to encourage one another, and to console one another [cf. 1 CORINTHIANS 14:2].
Allow me to invest just a bit more time on a related issue arising from love as the defining characteristic for followers of the Christ. Reading the responses of people commenting on news items posted on various Christian sites, it would appear that the mark of contemporary Christians is vitriol, hatred, biting sarcasm. Recall that Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” [JOHN 13:34-35]. If the response of professing Christians posting on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter or any of a number of Christian sites is any indication, modern Christians have jettisoned Jesus’ words in favour of raw tribalism that seeks first to destroy anyone with whom they disagree on the most innocuous details.
Contemporary Christians professing to follow the Prince of Peace differ little from those who make no profession of faith in Christ the Lord. Each alike appear quick to hide behind the supposed anonymity of the Internet to speak ill of others. Modern inhabitants of this fallen world are prepared to condemn with casual insouciance those with whom they disagree even in the smallest matters. We esteem those who affirm our biases and castigate those who fail to accept our preferred positions. Facebook and Twitter has done more to destroy courtesy and comity than any of us could have imagined just a few years ago. And though we hear the teaching of the Word, the influence of this broken world seems more powerful still for too many Christians!
I don’t see such vituperation evidenced among our own people, but I do see us perched on the edge of a precipice. We are restrained from making such harsh statements, but only barely. But I caution all who hear me at this time to be aware of this dreadful movement in which our brothers and sisters are increasingly acting like the world rather than revealing the character of the Prince of Peace. We must learn again the admonition of the Apostle, who has taught us, “You must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” [COLOSSIANS 3:8-10].
Turning again to the text, we aren’t told what illness had struck down Lazarus. Whatever the illness may have been, Lazarus’ life was threatened. I can imagine literally scores of illnesses or events that could have threatened the life of Lazarus; whatever threatened Lazarus’ life, the illness was both precipitous and serious. What is important for our study today is not to determine what did kill Lazarus, but to realise that his life was threatened and the threat was real—real enough to cause his sisters to panic. Driven by their panic, they turned to the only source that could help—their friend Jesus. The manner in which the account is reported leads me to conclude that the illness had a sudden onset and the progress of the disease was dramatic. This was not a long-term, chronic illness, but this illness was deadly and it struck down Lazarus quickly.
JESUS’ APPARENT LACK OF CONCERN — “When Jesus heard [of Lazarus’ illness] he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.’ After saying these things, he said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him’” [JOHN 11:4-16].
Mary and Martha managed to get word to Jesus as soon as it was practical to do so; but Jesus didn’t respond immediately as we would expect someone who loved this family should respond. Jesus appeared to be unconcerned, even indifferent to the fears of these two sisters. He appeared undisturbed at the thought that Lazarus was facing death. The disciples couldn’t understand, much less explain, what appeared in their estimate to be a lack of concern on the part of the Master. Candidly, if the conclusion of the story was not recorded, neither could we offer an explanation for what we witness. Jesus betrays no sense of urgency, no particular concern for what Lazarus was experiencing in his illness, and no especial compassion for the fear that was even then haunting Mary and Martha. It is as though Jesus took no note of their heartfelt plea.
How do you explain the silence of Heaven when you are frightened? When your child asks why your prayers haven’t been answered, what do you tell her? What do you say to the Christian sister who pleads with you to pray for her because it seems as if God is not listening to her pleas? When it is your child, your spouse, your friend that is crushed by the threats of death and God seems not to hear your cries, what do you say? That was the challenge facing Mary and Martha. Adding to the terror the sisters felt at that time, we are not told whether Lazarus was sufficient aware of how ill he actually was. Was he comatose? Was he coherent? We aren’t told, but the implication is that he wasn’t fully conscious of how serious the condition was.
It is almost impossible for us to break free of the immediate. Saints of another era in the southern United States used to warn against sacrificing the permanent on the altar of the temporary. It was a poetic way of saying that we can become so focused on the immediate challenge that we lose sight of what is truly important and what is permanent. Few of us are prepared to consider the consequences of our actions; this is especially true when the actions we are taking seem necessary to relieve the threat that looms before us at the moment.
When a loved one is ill, we will do all possible to ensure that the one we love can be cured of whatever malady is then threatening. We lose sight of the fact that our Saviour has promised that He will bring with Him those who fall asleep in Him. Don’t misunderstand; I’m not suggesting that we should not plead with the Lord to heal those we love, and the more so when it is uncertain whether that one has ever received the Saviour as Master over his or her life. However, at any point in an illness, as Christians we have this confidence—God is a just judge! Our Lord will not do anything that is wrong. With Abraham, we testify, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just” [GENESIS 18:25b]? With Moses, we confess,
“The Rock, His work is perfect,
for all His ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is He.”
[DEUTERONOMY 32:4]
And if our loved one has received Christ as Master over life, we are comforted by the divine promise that even should death take that loved one, we shall see that one again. We who believe the Christ have this promise, “We believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” [1 THESSALONIANS 4:14-17].
When God hasn’t yet answered our plea to “open the churches,” does this mean that God is powerless? Does it mean that the Lord is unconcerned? Does it mean that all our efforts to advance His cause are futile? Does His silence mean that the Scriptures are no longer applicable for this day? Of course not! God is still on His throne, even today!
Without even thinking of the consequences of our actions, we readily fall into a trap of attempting to reduce God to a sort of cosmic genie. We feel acutely the injustice of a situation, we are terrified of what is happening, we are frightened and intimidated because the opposition arrayed against our request seems so powerful. We demand that God act “right now!” And when He doesn’t, we are staggered. We hardly know how to respond. We feel despondent, disappointed, driven to despair. We question whether we have done something wrong, whether God has ceased loving us as His child.
I have no doubt that almost anyone of you listening to me this day could testify of times when you called out in terror, begging God for deliverance. We each know people who claimed to be followers of the Christ who walked away from their professed love for Christ because of disappointment. They didn’t receive an answer they desperately longed for; and because their demands went unanswered, they concluded that it was of no use to serve God any longer.
I recall God’s rebuke of His ancient people delivered through Jeremiah. Here is the account as recorded in JEREMIAH 18:1-12. “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ‘Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
“Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: “Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.”’
“‘But they say, “That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.”’”
Imagine such chutzpah! And from people who profess to obey the Lord! Cautioned by the Word of the Lord GOD, and yet responding with open disdain for the will of God even as they fairly shouted out their intention to do what they wanted to do. This is what is done when some have concluded that because God didn’t do what they wanted, they would no longer serve Him. We imagine that we know what is best. But how shall we account for the fact that we are taught to pray, “Not as I will, but as You will” [see MATTHEW 26:39].
I choose to emulate Jehoshaphat when he prayed, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You” [2 CHRONICLES 20:12b]. I choose to believe the Lord has chosen a way for me; and though I cannot map that way myself, I know that He knows the way and that He is guiding me. I affirm, as did Job,
“Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.”
[JOB 13:15a]
I will hold to my belief, a belief that was voiced by Job,
“He knows the way that I take;
when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold.”
[JOB 23:10]
I trust Him and not my own feelings. Amen.
DRAWING OUT ONE WOMAN’S FAITH — “When Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world’” [JOHN 11:17-27].
We witness Martha wail out her grief, “Lord, You are four days late! Why didn’t you hurry? I needed You!” I believe many of us can relate to Martha’s grief-stricken challenge to the Lord. I suspect that more than a few of us have voiced complaints precisely as Martha voiced to the Lord. We’ve had our days of desperation, our hours of personal grief; and in the midst of our struggle to even have enough strength to get out of bed, heaven was silent. In such times we cried out to the Lord for deliverance, only to be met by an eerie silence. We were desperate, and God seemed unconcerned. Where was God when we needed Him? We heard His promise: “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” [PROVERBS 18:24b], but He didn’t seem all that close when we needed Him!
Peter, in his first missive, speaks repeatedly of suffering. That should not be surprising since those followers of Jesus to whom he wrote were experiencing intense opposition resulting in great, even sustained suffering. Even as he opens the letter, he notes that those to whom he was writing were experiencing pain. Listen as Peter writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” [1 PETER 1:3-9]. These Christians were grieved by various trials in order that they might recognise the genuineness of their faith.
Peter writes as if those to whom he is writing were experiencing suffering that was clearly unjust. He writes to those who were slaves, acknowledging that they likely would experiencing injustice. Here was the divine Word he delivered to them. “You household servants must submit yourselves to your masters out of respect, not only to those who are kind and fair, but also to those who are unjust. For it is a fine thing if, when moved by your conscience to please God, you suffer patiently when wronged. What good does it do if, when you sin, you patiently receive punishment for it? But if you suffer for doing good and receive it patiently, you have God’s approval. This is, in fact, what you were called to do, because:
The Messiah also suffered for you
and left an example for you
to follow in his steps.
‘He never sinned,
and he never told a lie.’
When he was insulted,
he did not retaliate.
When he suffered,
he did not threaten.
It was his habit
to commit the matter to the one who judges fairly.”
[1 PETER 2:18-23 ISV]
Peter knew that Christians would suffer because God permitted such to happen. Note how he encourages us when we suffer to look to the example we are given in Jesus’ response to the cross. “Who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
To emphasise this point, Peter points to Christ, when he writes, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” [1 PETER 3:13-18].
The negative, painful experiences suffered by these earliest followers of the Risen Saviour were not theoretical—they were real. Peter makes this evident when he writes, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And
‘If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?
“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” [1 PETER 4:12-19].
Even as he concludes the letter, Peter is aware of the trials his fellow saints were suffering. Listen as he delivers his final instructions. “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” [1 PETER 5:8-11]. Amen, indeed!
Dear people, the final chapter has not been written. Christ is never late, though He does not align His timing with our world. Recently, Lynda watched the funeral of Prince Philip. I glanced at what was playing as I prepared my breakfast and then as I ate. I was struck by the ceremony, the pomp and pageantry. My mind turned to my own homegoing, an event that must surely come. There will not be much pageantry as friends and family say “Farewell.” I suspect that the funeral service will be considerably more simple than that I was witnessing as Philip was prepared for his long home.
I won’t care all that much whether there is ceremony or pageantry at my own death. What does matter for me is that I should hear Him Whom I’ve served these many decades say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” [MATTHEW 25:21].
I’m heartened when I witness Stephen as an enraged mob of religious people flung stones at him to take his life from the earth. The gracious deacon testified, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” [ACTS 7:56]. He saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God as if to receive His servant. That is what I want, to see Jesus standing to welcome me home.
It is of small moment what those of this life think of me. It is not that I am unconscious or uncaring, but my desire to honour the Saviour Who gave His life for me is far greater than anything else. Honouring Christ is of great concern to me. I know that when I see Him, I will be compelled by truth to confess, “I am an unworthy servant; I have only done what was my duty” [cf. LUKE 17:10]. Ultimately, it will be apparent that all that I was, all that I have accomplished, was by His grace. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, IL, 2016
