Wednesday, March 18, 2009

You are a part of All!

When you make a decision, you set the course of your life in that moment. When Jesus decided not to rush over to Martha and Mary's when Lazarus died, He set in motion events that would lead to a greater revelation of the power of God, His Mercy, and His Love....and we receive a glimpse of our God's heart for His creation. Jesus wept. ...Jesus, once more was deeply moved...

Now, this is just a personal opinion, but I prefer the word "weep" over the word "cry" in most instances. To me weeping suggests sincerity of emotion with less drama; whereas, when I hear the word cry, I tend to picture an exaggerated child-like response. I am thinking drama.

When I read about Jesus weeping, my heart becomes tender. I wonder what it was that moved Him so. What was he thinking? I mean, He knew Lazarus would be raised from the dead, didn't He? Why was Jesus crying? Was if for the people around Him, for their apparent loss? For their spiritual state of being? For what Lazarus was going through in death? Was Jesus weeping because He had a sense of His future? Was the moment just so overwhelming that Jesus, in His humanity got caught up in the moment that was filled already with mourning?

It would seem that everybody and their brother who studies this passage asks the question of why Jesus wept - and though we would like to have the answer dry and pat, it will be a bit of a mystery until such a time as Jesus speaks directly to our inquiry.

One thing we can be sure of is that Jesus was not afraid to let His tears flow - publicly even!

His show of emotion, I think, also endears us to Him. Knowing that our God weeps when we weep is reassuring. He relates to us on our level. This is comforting because it reinforces that our God is a personal God, not some untouchable, far off entity of unimaginable presence and power (although He is that too...). Our God, our Saviour cares about us at our level, sincerely, and passionately.

Jesus' decision to wait before tending to Mary and Martha revealed a greater, more intimate response to the needs of more than just Mary and Martha, but also Lazarus, each of the witnesses in attendance, the disciples, and then all those who heard or have read this great occurrence since...basically all mankind. Go figure. God's plan was not just for a few that He cared about, but rather His plan was a masterpiece to benefit all...All...not just a few.

By-the-way, you are part of All!

Romans 8:28 [ More Than Conquerors ] And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:27-29 (in Context) Romans 8 (Whole Chapter)

The story of Lazarus can be found in John 11 - Read it for yourself :)

cry
c.1225, from O.Fr. crier, from L. quiritare "to wail, shriek," var. of quirritare "to squeal like a pig," from *quis, echoic of squealing, despite ancient folk etymology that traces it to "call for the help of the Quirites," the Roman constabulary. The meaning was extended 13c. to weep, which it largely replaced by 16c. Most languages, like Eng., use the general word for "cry out, shout, wail" to also mean "weep, shed tears to express pain or grief." Romance and Slavic, however, use words for this whose ultimate meaning is "beat (the breast)," cf. Fr. pleurer, Sp. llorar, both from L. plorare "cry aloud," but probably originally plodere "beat, clap the hands." Also It. piangere (cognate with Fr. plaindre "lament, pity") from L. plangere, originally "beat," but especially of the breast, as a sign of grief. Crybaby is first recorded 1851, Amer.Eng. U.S. colloquial for crying out loud is 1924, probably another euphemism for for Christ's sake.

weep (v.)
O.E. wepan "shed tears, cry" (class VII strong verb; past tense weop, pp. wopen), from P.Gmc. *wopijanan (cf. O.N. op, O.H.G. wuof "shout, shouting, crying," O.S. wopian, Goth. wopjan "to shout, cry out, weep"). No certain cognates outside Gmc. Weepy first attested 1825. Weeping willow (cf. Fr. saule pleureur, Ger. trauerweide) is recorded from 1731. The tree is native to Asia; the first brought to England were imported 1748, from the Euphrates. Replaced cypress as a funerary emblem.

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