This morning I am going back to a very familiar scripture, Luke 11, the story of Lazarus. I have reflected on this story many times, and every time the Lord reveals something new to me, and today is no exception. I am going to focus on a few verses, looking at the prophetic perspective and announcement of Jesus concerning Lazarus. Here are the verses - John 11:3-4,14-15 NIV:
[3] So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
[4] When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it.”
[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.”
I am leaving out the meat of this story, for their is much that occurs in between and after these verses, but I wanted to look at Jesus original statement about Lazarus, and his second clarifying comment. Jesus says very clearly - "this sickness will NOT END in death." When I read that sentence this morning, I thought about my reflection yesterday, and see that Lazarus being alive is the final destination in this prophetic perspective. Again, using a map analogy, Lazarus being alive is the end-point they are moving towards, what He doesn't describe is the journey to get to that final destination. Jesus also lays out the promise and point of all God's interaction with man, God's glorification.
One of my favorite Catholic Saints, Alphonsus De Liguori said all things we encounter bring about two things, if we look to God. First, God's greater Glorification and secondly our greater sanctification (essentially becoming more like Christ). I love that perspective, and if we can take our eyes off our present situation, where we are in our journey, and look up, these are great final destinations.
Going back to the verses, the apostles have not understood the prophetic declaration of Jesus, and he give them greater context, or if we use the map analogy, a bit more details about the route they will be taking. Nothing has changed in the destination! This is so important, for often we can lose sight of the final destination in the midst of the journey, especially if it becomes difficult. The path they are heading down is about as difficult a path as there can be, and yet Jesus is walking them through it, and encouraging them forward, with the final destination in mind the whole time, for He clearly references that in verse 15.
There have been many times in my life that I have found myself following the Lord down a path, and then finding the path was nothing like I thought it would be! I would receive a promise and draw a straight line from where I was presently to that final destination, and assume that the journey would be flat and easy going. There are many times I have thought I have missed His guidance because of how hard the path is, and yet, if I look back the promise was never about the journey but rather the final destination or fulfillment of that promise. I guess I need to learn to ask more questions about the specific journey.
I do believe that in God's love for us, and through our intimate relationship, that He will provide more details, clarity and direction and even some of the challenges we will face. However, I am also aware that sometimes, (OK, most of the time) I wouldn't choose to walk through the hard parts if I knew about them ahead of time. God in His wisdom and love, provides me the needed information, the needed guidance, and then walks with me through the difficult things, constantly encouraging me, even reminding me of the final destination (if I were to ever ask, rather than complaining and grumbling).
So this morning I am encouraged to look back to some of the original promises, and to trust that God has a plan, a purpose and a path perfectly chosen for me! The final destination will result in His greater glorification and in my greater sanctification! I am encouraged to entrust my journey to You, knowing that You love me more than I can ever understand, and that while the journey might include dark times and difficult times, the final destination has never changed!
Amen!
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