Jesus Loved Them

There are lots of instructive truths in Jesus' relationship with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Here are a few that always cause me to pause, reflect, and examine where I am in my walk with Him.

First, it says that Mary chose the one necessary thing--to spend time at Jesus' feet learning of Him. It was not that she chose "one of" the necessary things. She chose "THE" necessary thing. How necessary is time alone with Him to me? There is no doubt how much His heart desires such devotion.

John tells us, "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." The reason He allowed them to experience such heartache and confusion and disappointment was not because He was angry with them or disappointed in them but because He knew that this testing of their faith would lead them to a deeper, fuller understanding of His character and His power--a deeper understanding of "God is love." In times of testing and sorrow am I looking for the revelation of His love for me? What a tragedy if I miss it.

I also find it interesting that when Martha got up and left the house no one moved, but when Mary got up to leave the house, everybody got up and went with her. When I am struggling to deepen my relationships with others, could it be that the real problem is the shallowness of my relationship with Him? Is there an undeniable, direct correlation between the depth of my love for Him and my ability to love and relate to others?

After Lazarus is raised from the dead, the family has a dinner, no doubt to celebrate the miracle. Guess what? Martha is busy serving. Mary is at His feet performing an act of sacrificial love and worship--anointing Him for His death. (Wow! At least one person understood why He had come!) And at least Martha's not complaining this time. (Judas was doing that!) I guess the mindset that God wants our quiet adoration and a deepening relationship to Him more than He wants our service is a difficult lesson to digest and embrace. I am delighted that God is patient with slow learners! I know one of those. And not only is He patient with slow learners: "Now Jesus loved Martha."

And what is the greatest truth in this story that always causes my heart to sing and dance for joy? "I AM the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" I do--with all my heart.

The Problem

The problem is not immorality, social injustice and poverty, saltless salt, an abnegation of our responsibilities to the Creation, materialism, evil corporations, conviction-less power-hungry leadership, hatred and abuse, conscienceless violence or anything else you want to add to the list. They are all just symptoms of the real disease--the real problem: man has a wicked heart. And all the good intentions in the world cannot change one heart. Hearts must be changed by the power of God. Only faith in Christ can make a man a new creation--begin the transformation process in a human heart. And the foolishness God uses to bring a man to Christ is the teaching of His Word. Do you really care about those symptoms above? Then share the foolishness of the Gospel with those around you. And those whom the Spirit transforms will join you in treating the symptoms of man's wicked heart--beginning with their own. It is only to the degree that God's Word becomes active in His new creations--starting with me--that evil can be defeated in any culture in any tangible, lasting way.

Presumption

To immerse myself in God's peace, I must rely on His perfect will being worked out in the lives of those I treasure as I patiently wait for Him to reveal and to accomplish His purpose for those who have become an inseparable part of who I am in Christ. And I must rely on His Spirit to take the foolishness of my words to touch the hearts of those I love. I must also understand that to wait for His work in their lives without intercessory prayers on their behalf is presumptuous sin.

Abiding

If a believer is abiding in Christ, there are certain traits that will be evident in his or her life:

a resting in Him, a deep sense of trust in His goodness;
a total dependence on Him--an unpretentious humility that knows that the glory for all things accomplished is His and His alone;
an unflinching desire for His will;
an incomprehensible joy;
a sense of His presence--an unquenchable heart knowledge of His great love for His child; a love as strong and deep and inescapable as the Father's love for His Son;
answered prayer--to the Father, through the Son, "verbalized" in the inexpressible groanings for God's perfect will by the indwelling Holy Spirit;
the animosity of the world--a hatred that is neither asked for nor a source of pride but rather something that breaks the heart and brings tears, not of self-pity, but of evangelistic love;
a commitment to encouraging His other children--a deep desire to spend time with them in mutual edification;
a longing to see His face--the moment He is willing, an understanding that he is not of this world but an ambassador sent on a mission of love;

And what is the secret to abiding in Christ? Unwavering obedience.

Our Purpose

Our purpose in life--regardless of our calling--is quite simple. By His grace we have become His children, and we have been indwelt by Him in the person of the Holy Spirit. "He that has this hope in him purifies himself even as He is pure." Our purpose is to become more and more like Him on a daily basis--to "practice" righteousness, to submit to the life of the True Vine and thus, to daily produce more and more of the Spirit's fruit--love, joy, peace, gentleness, faithfulness . . . in our walk. These are the evidence, the outward manifestations of an intimate, abiding relationship with my Savior. His expectation is that we are being transformed into His likeness.
And that requires some taking away; there must be less of me evident to others if more of Him is going to be evident to others. That's why trials are so essential in my walk with Him. In my pride I am too often not willing to readily give up the "things" I like about me nor the attitudes and viewpoints that I cherish as essential to having the acceptance and approval of others. Thankfully, He is not in the least bit "squeamish" about removing those things from my life that are detrimental to my usefulness in His kingdom. After all, I do not "manufacture" Christ-likeness in my life. It only comes about by His Spirit's "cleaning" out of my life those negative traits and ideas that are designed for me to gain man's approval, including, if not especially, my own. As that cleaning out process matures me--as I allow the Spirit to let the new creation--the new life that's in me--resonate through me, Christ's presence in the world--His glory--amazingly and incomprehensibly becomes evident in my life. In my life! His glory! Astounding grace!
And He will never in this life divert His energies--His power--from effecting such transformation in my life--on a daily basis. The carrying of my cross is not a haphazard, when I feel like it, activity. It is a daily requirement for discipleship, for glorifying Him. Less of me. More of Him. That is His purpose for my life. Today! And it begins with a taking away--a cleansing accomplished through His Word actively exposing those things in my life that need rooting out no matter how much I cherish them. The Spirit takes the trials of my life, immerses them in the teaching of the Word, and daily strives to transform me. His message to my heart--to my loves and my will--is: "This is who you are; this is what I want and need you to be. You do not need the approval of men. If that's what you want, they are your masters and you are their slave. For a life that makes an eternal difference, you need My approval. You need to love Me by being obedient to the changes I desire for you to humbly embrace. Yes, as the infinite, wise, loving God, I know the transformation, the taking away, that is necessary. I know what needs to be put to death in your life today."

May the song of our heart be, "O to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art! Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness; stamp Thine own image deep in my heart."

"Come in Thy sweetness."

Second Hand

Beware of a second hand relationship with the Word of God. Get into the book yourself! You can be going to church every time the doors are open, listening to Christian music, reading books on the Bible, and--stagnate as a Christian unless you yourself are in the book--reading and studying. Develop an intimacy with the Book and the Spirit who uses the book to show you who you are, who He is, and how you can become more like Him on a daily basis. A second hand relationship is not enough--not nearly enough.

Builders

Anyone can tear down. In fact, we do it so naturally because negativity just flows from our sinful, prideful heart. Building up--edifying--takes conscious effort--effort that begins in our thoughts. Put your mouth on pause tomorrow; after you've thought about what you were going to say--if it would tear down, don't say it. If it would encourage, comfort, edify, exhort positively, strengthen--speak. Words are not easily forgotten. If you don't have anything constructive to say, smile and hug. That will be remembered too. Be a builder of lives--a conscious, deliberate builder.