No more death

Just a few days ago, my husband and I left the home of some friends who had just lost their 27 year old son who had died in his sleep. Grief and pain etched deeply on their faces, how I longed to be able to do something, to say something to ease their sorrow. But what could be said, what could be done to lift such an unimaginable burden? Only our heavenly Father knows such a fearsome, searing loss for He gave His only, beloved Son on our behalf. And once again, I am confronted with His sacrificial love that is beyond comprehension.

Jesus, too, knew the horrific price of sin and death. He lost His earthly father, Joseph. But it is the loss of His dear friend, Lazarus, that always moves me. When their brother was desperately ill, Mary and Martha immediately asked Jesus to come to heal him, as He had healed so many others. But Jesus waited, knowing that Lazarus would die and knowing that He had a greater plan than any of them could imagine, for as He told His disciples, "Lazarus has died and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe." (John 11:14-15)

When Jesus finally arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days. Jesus, the Omnipotent One, knew all this. Moreover, He knew that He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead...and yet, Scripture tells us that "Jesus wept." (John 11:35) He wept at the terrible price of sin. He wept at the sorrow and unremitting pain of death. He wept for the grieving friends and relatives. He grieved for a world marred by death and loss and separation and disappointment and betrayal and fear. Jesus wept for a world where young sons die. Jesus wept for a world where earthquakes and tsunamis wipe out entire villages, destroy thousands of innocent lives, and decimate homes and farms and businesses. Watching the horrific destruction and death in Japan, we weep. And Jesus weeps.

Because this is not how it was supposed to be.

But this is not how it will always be either.

Jesus tells Mary and Martha "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die." John 11:25-26 Moments later Jesus demonstrated the truth of what He had just said, as He goes to the tomb, already smelling of decomposition and death and commands "Lazarus, come out." (John 11:43) "The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, and let him go." (John 11:44) From death to life. From bound to free. From sorrow to joy. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life and He truly makes all things new. New life. New hopes. New beginnings. New mercies.

How we praise Him that when we have lost a dearly loved child or parent or friend or sibling, if they are in Christ, then we WILL see them again. We can take that to the bank--they are not actually "lost" for we know exactly where they are and we know with certainty that we will find them again one day...for all of eternity.

But for now, we grieve--just as Jesus grieved for the death of His beloved friend whom He knew He was about to raise from the dead. We weep for all the years we will miss talking to them on the phone or laughing with them or hugging them or watching them grow and change. We weep for the missed opportunities and the missed commonplace moments that we took for granted but that we so long for now. We weep because we miss their advice or their jokes or their eccentricities or their smile.

Yet in the midst of our grieving and pain, Jesus comes to us and whispers to us, "It will not always be this way. Take heart. Look unto Me." Early the other morning, as I pondered all the sorrow of this family's loss and the tragedy in Japan, I read these words: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And He who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" Rev.21:1-5

What unspeakable joy--a world without tears and pain and death and failure! A world made new and perfect, redeemed by the One who died to save it. A world where we never say "goodbye" or "I'm sorry" or "O no" or "not again." Thank You Lord Jesus for the promise and hope of heaven. Thank You that You are the Resurrection and the Life. And thank You for dying for us that we might live with You and our loved ones forever and ever and ever. To You be all the glory.