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John 11 – When Lazarus died Jesus came to the community. He cared. He cried. The Jews noticed… they said, “see how he loved Lazarus!”
God gives comfort and healing over time, but life will never be quite the same. What has happened cannot be avoided or ignored, it is previous… We must hold to the one thing that cannot and will not change. Our heavenly Father.
1 John 3 – How utterly dark life would be if God where not love. If he were only all powerful and not also full of love… his gaze on man would only be cold and stern. But this is not our heavenly father! The Bible says “Look at the love of the Father!”
God is not only sovereign, all powerful and all knowing. He is also a God of boundless love.
The world didn’t recognize Jesus when he came. Likewise they don’t understand the relationship we can have with him. They don’t understand the hope that we can have for the future.
The children of God are part of an unseen, yet very real spiritual kingdom. Even as we walk on this earth amongst many people who do not understand.
Purifying ourselves is not just finding forgiveness through the mercies of God that are new every morning. But it is also the change that happens in our lives as God works in our hearts and lives. A response to God’s great love.
Christ is coming again for his children. In a moment. In the twinkling of an eye. The dead shall be raised first. We shall be changed. Our place will be changed. All for the better. We don’t know all the details, but we can and should rest in the knowledge that it will be better, much better than the best of things that this world has to offer.
For the faithful children of God there is a promise of a glorious future, something to long for, live for and be watchful and ready for. This hope is as certain and sure as the moment that we are alive today.
This promise is in the future and we don’t know how far in the future. In the meantime there will be many reminders of the shortcomings in this life. Life will hurt.
God is with us. Now. In this present time and through great grief. His grace is available through all the pain that comes our way in this life. Jesus can fix things and bring healing.