Death Cannot Divide Us
14 So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."
16 Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
Jesus Comforts the Sisters
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27 "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
Bee's Thoughts:
"whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (v26)
Yes, I believe. That means death can't seperate me from my loved ones who also believe in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Isn't that comforting? In today's daily bread, it says:
"Death does not sever our love for them, for love belongs to the spirit and not to the body. And when those we love go on a long journey, their thoughts can span the distance as though it were a step, and their love enfolds us as though they stood beside us. So it is today with our dear departed ones."The opposite is also true, i.e. if our loved ones do not believe in the Lord, they will be separated from us forever. :( That means, we need to do something about it now.
I also see another lesson from the above passage: Sometimes I feel that my heart has become emotionally 'dead' because of hurts in my life. Yet when I come before the Lord to pray, to confess my sins and forgive, God 'resurrects' my heart to feel, to love and care again... it can't remain dead. Reading this passage has inspired me to compose my poem My Heart Will Go On.
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank You that You are the ressurection and the life (v25). Thank You for 'resurrecting' my heart that 'stops beating' every now and then. My heart will go on because of You... Thank You.
Tommy's Thoughts:
Being a Christian and a Chinese, I often ask myself which elements within my culture I can retain, which I should reject and which I should try to transform. Take for example the Ching Ming celebration this month. We must reject any elements that are demonic and evil that promotes, encourages and lock us in fear. But, there are others we can retain like the underlying philosophy behind Ching Ming of honouring our parents and ancestors. It’s something we also find in the Bible.
It’s also a great time for family gathering and to share the good deeds done by our ancestors, passing on the stories to the younger ones. Visiting the gravesites together with our non-Christian relatives and family members would show that we as Christians are also filial. We can also use the time to reflect, giving thanks to God for our ancestors and God goodness shown to our family.
It is also a good time for us to share about the resurrection and the Easter message of hope. We can share how through believing in Christ, who is the Creator of life (John 14:6), we’ll have the wonderful assurance and certainty to gain a spiritual life that death can’t conquer or diminish in any way: “Because I live, you also will live” (v14:19).
Dear Lord, thank You for the comforting and assuring promise of reuniting back with our believing loved ones who might leave us one day. What can be more joyful than being able to be with our loved ones forever! Thank You Father, for Jesus, who has made all this possible for us who believe in Him. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
.......the devotion of Bee & Tommy
