Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.
John 12:2
There are certain ‘definites’ in life, which are reassuring. The death and resurrection of Jesus and the grace, the hope of the gospel, are absolutes we can rely on through the ups and downs. It can be challenging at times to see these facts clearly through the fog of various distractions but truth still stands.
However, within those parameters are various occurrences, in which we have to trust without knowing the outcome. Thinking about the average life span of a man and woman: we can find ourselves jumping up and down in a victory one moment and then putting our shields up to go through a storm. It ebbs and flows like that. You could be given an “all clear” about heart problems from one doctor; only to find a cancer doctor giving bad news a few days later.
Yesterday I had an appointment with a doctor, checking on my eyes for diabetes. He told me things I already knew about – they could do no more laser surgery, a cataract was in my right eye – but then dropped in some information of which I was previously unaware. There was a little “fibrosis” in the left eye they need to keep observing, in case surgery is required one day to protect the macula.
I thought back to years ago when another doctor in a hospital miles away told me the left eye was in good shape. And I compared that verdict to the diagnosis now given. Even so, what are the facts behind the facts? Perhaps this fibrosis had been there for years. Perhaps it would pose no problem for years. Perhaps it would. Perhaps it wouldn’t. Perhaps… perhaps… perhaps…
We love to live within certainties but there is never – never – 100 percent reassurance as long as we live on this side of heaven. We’re all growing old and with that comes natural challenges. One thing I have learned, when I look back, is that God has always, and I do mean always, mysteriously worked things out.
If there is one person in the Bible who really walked that tightrope of faith, it is Lazarus.
Where is he now? It’s such an important question. The last time we were aware of him, he was sitting in his resurrected body eating a meal with his sisters and Jesus. Where did his story go next? Did he die again? It seems so (no one alive claims to be him), so what happened? What thoughts went through his head as his body died a second time? He would have experienced the gruelling pull of dying at the same time as his faith level held firm, knowing that Jesus had rescued his life before and will do so again.
We are also called to walk a tightrope of faith in ALL situations and whether life seems good or bad: to just keep walking with the Lord and to the Lord.
We don’t have all the answers but we can leave the truths, the proper diagnosis or diagnoses, in any given situation to Jesus alone. When I said goodbye to my Christian mentor John, in a hospice before he died from cancer, he gave me a last word. It still stands true.
“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
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