After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."  John 11:11 

 

What do you say to those who are heartbroken, angry and questioning because of death? Tell them about Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. Tell them: (1) Jesus allows us to question! Martha asked, in effect, 'Where were you when we needed you, Lord?' Was Jesus upset with her? No. In moments like these we learn things about ourselves we never knew before. In times of heartache we discover, '... His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness' (Lamentations 3:22-23) (2) Jesus shows us how to grieve! 'Jesus wept,' not because He was powerless, but because He was our example. If you bury your emotions, you bury them alive and they’ll rise again to hurt you. The process of becoming whole involves: (a) feeling deeply (b) dealing honestly (c) making way for healing. Are you running from pain? Are you trading it in prematurely for some other feeling? That’s not God’s way. He says, '... you will weep and mourn... but [eventually] your grief will turn to joy'(John 16:20) (3) Jesus gives us hope! Listen: '... Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going... to wake him up.' Know how you feel after a great night’s sleep? Well, multiply that feeling by infinity and you still haven’t come close. Goodnight here means good-morning there. Jesus said, 'In that life they are like angels and cannot die... ' (Luke 20:36). Wow! The ‘Uppertaker’ puts every undertaker out of business! Don’t you love it?