Chapter 11 is about how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Without summarizing the whole chapter, what stands out to me the most is how much Jesus loves Lazarus, Mary and Martha. It's tempting to first judge Jesus when he doesnt take off right away to see Lazarus when he hears that he's sick, but that gets dispelled as we realize that Jesus has a purpose and reason for everything. I think the reason for delaying his visit to Lazarus is so that Jesus can manifest his power in an even greater way. Healing a sick person is not as miraculous as raising the dead, and perhaps this is part of how God wants to reveal his greater power and glory.
But let's go back to the point of how I was really comforted by the fact that Jesus is deeply moved and really loves Lazarus and his family. It says that when he saw Mary cyring and the rest of the Jews crying for Lazarus, he was "deeply moved in spirit and troubled", and then the famous verse "Jesus wept". This shows me that Jesus was hurting too and he can relate to us. When we are suffering and deeply pained, he cries with us. He isn't just this God who is up in heaven, completely removed from our situations, but he is a God who was on this earth and has gone through many of the things we go through now, such as rejection, pain, disbelief from people, abandonment, etc.. This gives me greater hope as I pray for my family and diff. situations that come my way because I know this God, my God, really cares for me and loves me. And when he performs miracles and answers our prayers, I know that it's not just to prove his power and worth (although there is the aspect of glorifying himself) but because he loves us and wants to heal us as well.
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Overall, my time at home has been so hectic. I am now in Jersey City, and fully moved in. I am amazed at my parents' diligence and how unlazy they are ! I remember it literally took months for me to be fully moved in, and they only took literally 3 days. When the cable guy came to install cable today, he asked us, Oh you must've lived for here for a while now, and we were like actually no we just got here Friday. He was shocked ! I'm sososo thankful that I was here when they moved because we bonded so much. We've been spending so much time packing, cleaning, moving, unpacking, cleaning, shopping, and cooking that I haven't really seen anyone else yet. I think i'll catch up with people this coming week. I'm glad that I can do my part and really help them with the diff. things that need to get taken care so that they don't worry about it while they are working. So overall, I'm so glad to have experienced the move with them.
If you can continue to pray for my family, and that my mom can find a new church !!
Can't wait to see you all in the new year !
Tina
2 comments:
Word. Definitely love a God who can relate, who cries and rejoices with us. We'll continue to be praying for you and your family (for real).
I think what struck me the most from this chapter was that Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and troubled, I think i treated Jesus too much as God, and this part of verse 33 just reminded me that he is also a human, and just retold me how hard it is for him to resist sin, and it's also an encouragement for me to try to resist sin, and yes, we will pray for you Tina! :)
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