Yesterday we said good bye to a beautiful lady at our church. Last week this sweet sister went home to be with the Lord, released from her pain and ill health of this life. She was on this earth for many years and left a legacy of faith, kindness and motherly love for all who knew her. She will definitely be missed, but we are so happy for her homecoming to heaven. I am always so blown away by the hope we have for after this time on earth.
Our Pastor spoke on the the story of Lazarus. He spoke on Jesus being the resurrection and the life, Biblical truths that our dear Georgina believed with all her heart. Here is Lazarus' story.
11 A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. 2 This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” 5 So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days. 7 Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.” 8 But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they said, “only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”
9 Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. 10 But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.” 11 Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” 12 The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” 13 They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. 14 So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.” 16 Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.” 17 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. 18 Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. 20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” 25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” 28 Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” 29 So Mary immediately went to him. 30 Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31 When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. 32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” 38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.” 40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” 43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
So I got to thinking about this whole story and the believer's death. And the Lord spoke something to my heart...for us, this life is like death like the grave, there is sickness, our bodies are dying everyday...but when the time comes for us to join the Lord in heaven, we are called to life by Jesus...we are called to "real" life, eternal life, healthy, whole, amazing, unending, beyond anything we could imagine, life. He calls us to life when we leave this earth. We will be unwrapped of pain, unwrapped of heartache and sickness, sin and death. It's as if He calls us from the dark grave of death to the bright joy of eternal life. Jesus has overcome this world, overcome death and will call us to His side when our time here is done. What hope we have! He calls us to life! Our being born again on this earth, the renewal of our spirit through the gift of salvation Jesus bought for us on the Cross, is just a foretaste of true life we will have in eternity with Him. It's amazing. One day we all will hear Him say "Come out!" It's time to come home.
This life here has it's ups and downs, it's good, it's bad, sometimes easy, other times we feel as if the we can't take another step...but it's not the end. Like those who have gone before us, we have a home in heaven, waiting for us....a place where we will be truly alive forever with the Lord.
Wow Father, what a wonderful hope we have. To think, now we live in the darkness of a dying world, but one day You will call us forth to live in eternal life and light....forever by Your side, forever filled with awe and joy. One day we will hear that final call to life, like Lazarus from the grave. Help us to live here with that in mind, eternal thinking and to share this truth with others so that they will hear Your call on their hearts now and share in this glorious eternity later. In Jesus' Name, the only Name that saves. Amen.
Think about the heaven that awaits us, let it color your day with joy and hope.
