This morning during the “children’s message”(or more appropriately, the message to the children), I talked to the kids about the fact that they would probably see a lot of adults crying. Sometimes, that’s scary for kids. The people that they expect to “be strong” now seem to be overwhelmed. They must wonder what is happening and what it means for them.
I mentioned to the kids that Jesus once had a friend who died also. His name was Lazarus. When Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, were distraught. But when Jesus Himself went to the tomb, He wept.
Just like the adults at Bethel wept today (and often over the last few days) because of the grief we are feeling. I think the kids understood. BUT, what I should have said was:
“I wonder what Mary and Martha and the disciples thought when they saw Jesus crying.” After all, they believed that Jesus was “…the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” (John 11:27) I wonder what you think when you see the Son of God crying? When you see the one who heals the sick overwhelmed with grief? When you hear the sobs of the One who caused demons to cry out in fear? I wonder what you think then?
I can certainly understand why someone would be afraid. Whatever can make God cry must be really bad or really powerful.
I can understand why someone would be confused. Jesus had certainly seen death before. In fact, He stated that He was the resurrection and the life. Why would He weep in the face of death?
I could even understand why someone would have some doubts. If God weeps, doesn’t that mean that He is somehow not in control of the situation before Him?
But that’s not what John says. He writes, “Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’” (John 11:36)
Our tears are indicators of our love for those who are lost. In which case, neither the children nor the adults should be afraid of the tears that we see. Rather, we should be thankful for them. The cause of the tears is not the death; the cause of the tears is the love that we have for the one who is gone.
And, when we cry, we should also remember that Jesus wept. His tears are not caused by His grief over the loved one who has died – especially since those who die in Christ have now been brought to be with Him. Rather, God’s tears are evidence of His love for those of us who are left behind. Bring on the tears!
Dear Pastor Cal, I am Amy’s aunt Joyce from IN—Phil is my “little” brother–I waited to talk to you after the service Wed. but you were busy with others. If you saw the framed picture of the bride with Amy as the flower girl, the bride was my daughter Kathy. She went to live with Jesus when she was 25—not quite 2 years after that picture was taken. Kathy and Amy loved each other dearly and now they are together again. Though my husband and I have walked the hardest road of any parent—that of losing a child, we cannot begin to fathom what Phil and Sue have experienced and will continue to do so. Thank you for your message at Amy’s service and for all you have done in supporting Phil, Sue and the rest of the family. I also want to thank the people of your church who gave our family so much love, caring and support in so many ways while we were in MN. May God richly bless you in your ministry there and all the wonderful people of Bethel. Thank you also for this message which brings so much comfort.
Love in Jesus from all of us, Joyce Oezer
You train of thought made me think about this devotion.
Thursday // May 27 // 2010
Today’s Read the Word: Psalm 34
Why?
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
— Psalm 25:8
Many people point to the problem of evil and suffering, more than any other, as their reason for not believing in God. It is not merely a problem; it is the problem.
We look at this world in which we are living today and wonder why: If God is good, then why did that happen? Why that earthquake? Why that tsunami? Why that tragedy? Why that illness? Why that loss of life? The questions go on and on.
The implication is that either God is all-powerful, but not all-good, and therefore doesn’t stop evil. Or, that He is all-good, but not all-powerful, and therefore can’t stop evil. The problem with the question of “If God is good, then why. . . .” is the one who is asking it determines what is good and what isn’t. And the very nature of the question suggests that God is not good.
But who am I, or who are you, to say what is good and what is not good? When did we become the moral centers of the universe? God is not good because I think He is good or because you think He is good. He is not good because we took a vote on it, and 98 percent of us believe that He is good. No, God is good because He said He is good. There is no higher authority than God himself. Jesus said, “No one is good but One, that is, God” (Luke 18:19).
So God is good, whether we believe it or not. God and God alone is the final court of arbitration. As the apostle Paul said, “Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).
The big question is what is good, because sometimes our definition of good and God’s definition are not the same.
Copyright © 2010 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Dear Pastor Cal. My name is Amanda. I write a blog on Thanksgiving and am borrowing this picture of yours for today. I would really like to use it and I’m not sure how soon you’ll respond, but if you have any objections I’d be happy to put it off my page. I’m sorry for taking the liberty of using this image and I hope you will understand my urgency at using it.
Here’s the link to where I’ve used it. I pray you understand.
http://mandy-says-thanks.blogspot.com/2012/01/jesus-wept.html