Life and Time part 2
“…I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” John 11:25
How is life best approached? Is it best to be a planner, carefully designing each life-choice? Waiting to marry till my career is on track? Waiting for children because of an uncertain future? Is it better to be spontaneous and just free-wheel through life because it could end at any moment? Life is great, but add the element of its uncertain duration due to the passing of time, and it can be paralyzing.
Jesus Christ had a dual nature, He was fully God and He was fully man. He experienced life and time much as we do; He was at first a newborn baby and then a toddler, a little boy, a teenager, and, ultimately, a grown man. God understands people not only because He created us and forms each of us individually, but also because He became one of us. Jesus dealt with the same clock we do. His life, as ours, was lived inside space and time and the time didn't wait for Him anymore than it waits for us. Of course it would have if He would have decided so, but He restricted His human nature to living within the same confines as the rest of creation. That is, he got hungry, sleepy, sad and happy, and sometimes things didn't work out, initially at least, the way it would seem they should work out for the Son of God.
When Jesus' dear friend Lazarus was gravely ill, his sisters, Mary and Martha, sent word to Jesus about their brothers condition but, ultimately, their brother died before Jesus got there. Time ran out for Lazarus. Mary and Martha were heartbroken wishing Jesus had gotten there in time to do something, but He didn’t.
I'm sure you know how that feels. It seems unfair and you feel helpless and the clock doesn't wait for a cure to be found or the perfect mate to notice you or ten extra minutes on the final exam – and it is over. You move from hope to sadness or disappointment in an instant.
Jesus knew all along what would transpire with Lazarus and He allowed it to play out though it pained Him to tears to see His friends suffering. When He finally arrived they went to the tomb where Lazarus was laid and Jesus instructed the stone to be moved away and then prayed out loud, thanking the Father for hearing Him and then cried out for Lazarus to come forth, and he did, alive out of the tomb. (John 11:1-44)
Lesson for us? Live life. Don’t stress. Jesus is Lord of all, which includes not only you and me, but the earth and the elements, time and eternity. He IS the resurrection and the life. Jesus allowed Himself, as a man, to be bound by time. But time and space will always be the servants of God, they are part of His creation and Jesus demonstrated His Lordship over them throughout His life giving us hope that, as followers of Christ, we are safely in the eternal care of Him to whom even time and space bow.
Sincerely,
Ed
