Jesus Wept – Part 2

John 11:35 – 44  Jesus wept.

Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

What is compassion? Is it crying with someone, sitting with them, and being there for them when they are hurting? Or is it serving, taking care of needs, coming to another’s rescue when they need it?

It’s both.

I love how Jesus showed his love for his friends by crying with them, for Lazarus. But Jesus knew that true love doesn’t stop with an emotional encounter. Real love backs up emotion with action.

Jesus wept. Then, He did everything He could do to make their situation better. And because He was the Son of God, He was able to call Lazarus forth from the grave. Lazarus was dead. Jesus gave him life – again.

Now, I can’t speak for any of you, but I can tell you right now that I won’t be calling anyone back from death any time soon. I can’t. It’s not in my power.

But there are things I can do to show love to those around me. I can cry with them when they cry, laugh when they laugh. I can run errands and babysit and do chores for those who are hurting. Though I can’t do everything, I can do some things.

At times, however, I’ve been guilty of giving someone a compassionate hug, then going on my way without really backing up my emotion with action. Other times, I’ve acted . . . but perhaps I’ve forgotten to give that hug.

We need both, don’t we? We need people to laugh with us and cry with us, and we also need them to back up their love for us with action. I’m so glad that Jesus does both, aren’t you? I hope that someday, I can be like Him. And I can be, if I will just remember to do what I can.

Love with my emotions. Love with my actions.

Just like Jesus.

Dear Father, Please help me to love the way You love.

Amen

5 Responses to Jesus Wept – Part 2

  1. January 5, 2009 #

    As always, Jesus sets the example we need. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do (or not do). Guess that’s where we just call on Him and try to follow His leading…

  2. January 5, 2009 #

    Amen, Cheryl!

  3. January 5, 2009 #

    LOL….I am glad you removed the pic so as to be able to read the rest of this! I really tried hard to comprehend the relevance of the pic, figuring you are going for abstractly (is that a word?) profound in the posting!

    Great (full) post!…Sometimes I walk away without the emotion too. It speaks of my own insecurity. ~mp:)

  4. January 5, 2009 #

    Thanks, MP! I’m glad Cheryl e-mailed me about the problem, or I would have never known. Please let me know if it happens again!

    Yes, sometimes it’s hard trying to find the balance between emotion and action. God created us with both, and so we need to offer both to others. I know I need both, but too often, I only offer one or the other . . . I’m so glad Jesus gave us the perfect example of how to love, aren’t you?

  5. January 5, 2009 #

    Yes definitely…now to consistently practice it….:)

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.