And He Weeps

Jesus once called to his friend Lazarus to come outside. What makes this unusual is that his friend had been dead for 4 days, and Jesus was standing in front of his grave. Jesus had been messaged several days before that his friend was sick and likely to die. Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus, had prayed but when Jesus did come, he was too late.

“If only you had been here” they said.
“It’s not fair”, they could have added.
Jesus wept.

What happens when prayer is not answered? When the one you call on, does not answer?
It is heart breaking.
It is hope breaking.
It brings tears.
Jesus wept.

We know life is not fair. We know disaster can strike and take our homes, our health. We know we might not be the smartest, strongest, richest…the list goes on. We know all this, and yet we hope and pray for answers.

And we weep.
Jesus weeps.

And then Jesus called. He called his friend. He called out from the darkness and into the light. From death into hope. Imagine what it was like for Lazarus to stand up, to see light sneaking through a gap in the cloths over his eyes. A glimmer of light and hope. The hope of healing fulfilled, as he stumbled out, back into the arms of his family.

I’m sure he wept.
I’m sure Jesus wept.

If there is any encouragement, any hope, then we can believe in the power of prayer answered. Because Jesus weeps still. And he weeps with us. And in the tears there is hope.

We hold onto this hope as we strive to be, “The Hand of God, in the Heart of the City.”

Major Colin Bain
Director of Support Services