Jesus Weeps

Jesus Wept [John 11:35]. This is one singular line in the Bible that now means much more to me than it ever has.

Today… today sweet Lydia has lost a battle she fought so valiantly.

One tiny, beautiful girl that has taught me so much.Watching her mother grow, love and persevere has forever changed me. This is a tribute to a wonderful little soul who has left quite a legacy.

I have learned true worship, or at least how it should be. With ALL that I am. This I owe to Lydia.

“So, if He created her to be this way, how is it that she can praise the Lord?
I know that to some extent, her ability to praise the Lord comes in how much Micah and I choose to praise the Lord for her. She can’t speak, so the verbal part of praising the Lord has to be done by us. Not really sure why some people get to praise the Lord for more than just themselves, but (most days) I count in an honor to praise Him on her behalf.
But for her – in what ways can she praise the Lord? Could it be that every breath she struggles to take, every time she puts forth effort to move her arms, head or legs, that she is praising the Lord? Could it be that every time her body that He created has a seizure that she is praising the Lord? Could it be that every time that body stops breathing that she is praising the Lord? And could it be that when she takes her final breath on the day that He has already chosen to gather her in His arms – could that be how she is praising Him?
I don’t know. Maybe this is all theologically incorrect, but it kind of makes me feel differently about her suffering. Of course it’s still awful to watch her suffer He’s asked her to praise Him with her body, broken though it may be, how can I help but praise Him with my heart, broken though it may be?”

From Jen: Everything That Has Breath

I have learned to see the sanctity of human life.

Megan said, “I think motherhood is a spiritual endeavor, but being the mother of one of the very least of these is really a slap in the face to the Enemy. What you and I have done for our babies sings of the sanctity of human life, and Satan hates it. I know you know this. I just say it to remind you that there is a great deal of good vs. evil, spiritual warfare, in your everyday routine with Lydia.”

From Jen: Lesson Learned on a Sunday Evening

I have learned that there is a faith and a love I cannot yet fathom.

Though anger and pain may rise up, This child can face uncertain days because He lives!

All that came to my mind when I heard the news was that Jesus weeps. His heart too is broken for my friends.

This passage summed it all up for me.

Jesus wept. Not wailing, not like formal mourners at the graveside. The word John uses is different for Jesus. Mary and Martha wailed. Jesus wept quietly. He shed tears, we might say. He shed tears when he saw the sorrow of Mary and Martha and all the crowd, also, who had come to mourn. Who would not have wept?

For John, the Gospel writer, everything Jesus does points to the divine. John is not particularly interested in the humanity of Jesus. Unlike Mark, whom we have been hearing from this year, who loves the person of Jesus. John loves the God in Jesus. The first part of the Gospel of John is called by scholars the book of signs, signs that point to Jesus’ amazing godliness. And the second part is known as the book of glory, meaning the execution and resurrection of Jesus. For John, everything has another meaning.

But in spite of that, the human Jesus sometimes escapes the words of John and reveals the part of Jesus that we know is in him. He sneaks out from behind the curtain and shows himself. Jesus is about to raise Lazarus from death, a miracle if there ever was one, and a prequel to his own resurrection. It is a time of sign and of glory. Yet Jesus weeps silently.

Why does Jesus weep? Does he weep for his friends Martha and Mary in mourning? Does he weep for the loss of his friend Lazarus? Does he weep because he thinks he could have done something sooner? Does he weep because he is Jesus, who cannot put friends before duty? Who knows why he weeps? He weeps for all these things and more.

…

Death is not nothing to Jesus. It is dreadful. God does not promise in the short term to take away death. But Jesus does promise that we need not fear it. We can cry in sorrow and anger at death. We would be crazy not to. Jesus does.

But we do not have to give ourselves up to its power to rule us through fear. Death is flimsy. Death does not have the last word.

From three eleven: Jesus Weeps

And so, today Jesus weeps. And I weep with my dear friends.

Today Lydia is at peace, and today she has won the war.