Life hurts - Part 2
Most of us fall into a routine of using trite sayings to answer difficult situations. They are often true--at least partly so--, but we miss the pathos of life in recycling something we saw in a church bulletin or heard a special speaker say. We should not be afraid to weep with those who weep. Feel the deep pain and brokenness that has entered the world through sin. Christ was not afraid to when He wept at Lazarus' graveside. He showed a visceral, yet not carnal anger at the high cost of sin and the despair of unbelief.(see #1 below)
It is in that honest acknowledgement of pain that the glory of the Gospel then breaks through as sunrise. Jesus did not die just to get me out of hell–while that is wonderful. His sacrifice was to fix everything. His death, burial, and resurrection secure not just a home in heaven but meaning. The hurt that I go through is not for nothing. Christ will use it for my good and His glory. And He will fix it.
See part one.
- John 11 relates the circumstances of Lazarus' death and resurrection. The word groaned directly relates to anger in its 1st century use. I plan some day to look at that passage in more detail.
