"Past or Future?"

  Jesus loved Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. But when Lazarus falls sick and dies, Jesus says He was glad He wasn't there! (John 11:15) Jesus knew all along Lazarus was going to die and Jesus deliberately stayed away to show His disciples the glory of God. 

  Jesus approaches Bethany, the home of the family, and Martha comes to meet Him with these words: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus responds: "Your brother will rise again." Martha takes the conversation to the future: "I know he will rise again the resurrection on the last day." Jesus tries to teach that He is the resurrection and the life.

  Martha flees to Mary telling her "The Teacher" was there and Mary came and met Him with these words: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 

  We can see how people in situations feed off of one another. The words of these two sisters were identical in what they said and thought. We do the same today. We feed off of one another and many times what we say in situations is not the best. Here both sisters are stuck in their thinking about the past. Their minds draw off the past and when Jesus points to the present of Him being the resurrection and the life, Martha's mind set goes to the future. What do we learn? Too many times people either live the past or deal with what may lay in the future. The past creates pain. The future creates uncertainties. What many fail to do is live in the present. Lives become wasted. Too much past and too much future while very little present. "If I had only done..." becomes many thoughts when encountering something. "Next time I'll..." for the future. And standing right in front of us in the present is the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life and we miss Him finding little help or comfort for our present need. We don't move forward today because we are stuck in mind-sets that aren't helping.

  When one reads John 11 account we find Jesus looking at the weeping Mary and Martha along with the rest of the Jews with them and it moved Him and troubled Him. Because of tears over the death of Lazarus? Not hardly! Jesus intentionally stayed away knowing Lazarus had died.  Jesus wept! What troubled Him so? Jesus arrives at the tomb and asks the stone removed. As Martha questions this decision, the words of Jesus penetrates to give us what troubled Him so and caused Him to weep: "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" Jesus was troubled and moved in spirit while weeping because no one was listening to what He was saying!!! Simply put, these sisters He loved did not believe His word.

  When we find ourselves in situations, we must stop dealing with "what if's"! And we must stop reaching to "Maybe someday"! We need to live in the "now" listening to the voice of Jesus today! There is where we will find rest for our souls and ability to make progress in the present. Yesterday is gone! Tomorrow will care for itself! Today is the day for us to walk with the Lord.