True to the usual way of Jesus, when He spoke, the words addressed a common situation. As we see continually throughout the Bible, men and women look with earthly eyes at the passing scenes and take always the physical and the common interpretations of those moments. However Jesus was constantly trying to tell us and demonstrate to us that to those who believe in God, there is more to it than that.
Anyone who professes the existence of a mighty being who lives just beyond the limits of our physical environment where we currently inhabit, should at least have the door open slightly to the idea that this being whom we call God, would have also a view point unlike our own. A Being, so wise and powerful that could see effortlessly the ends and beginnings would be able to cut straight to the truly important things and sift out all the lesser important details.
So I do not count it strange that our Lord Jesus spoke as He did and therefore find myself perking up my ears to try to hear and see the direction which He took as opposed to our popular ones. Here in John 11 for example, Jesus points out that the sickness which literally killed His friend Lazarus, was not as it seemed.
Even as His friend was dying and after when the spark of life had left the body and the man was declared dead, Jesus spoke of the situation in a different light. Jesus, who had come from the Kingdom of Heaven and from the Father´s side could easily see what was really happening. With our earthly eyes and with the traditional ways of weighing the information we take in from the world around us we come away with a limited and lesser understanding of the passing situations. It is not our fault, we were born into this world and the natural resources and instruction we receive teach us intelligent ways to assimilate information. However, our capabilities of receiving all the information were reduced considerably since the fall of man.
It may be difficult to visualize just what happened in the story of the Garden of Eden, but that does not need to reduce the significance to use of the results. We could get lost in a discussion of what really happened and how and why. But I think it would be a waste of time. What we all may agree upon is that as the result of mankind´s actions, we were banished from the presence of God. This does not mean that God is not here, but rather that now we have lost the right and ability to see Him and communicate with Him as we once were designed.
This is the sad condition of our race, but there is light and hope for our condition. Jesus, the only one who could, came and showed us that the other was still real and still possible. What is more, He made a way possible for us to be restored to that state which we have lost.
What does this mean to you and me today? This means that the Bible tries to teach us that there is a greater purpose and a larger plan unfolding before our eyes. If we would only believe in Jesus and His words, we could accept this as a fact. True faith will begin to grow inside of us. It becomes stronger as we realize more and more how God is in fact still working in His universe and His plans are being carried out.
This also means that all our not-so-small problems and situations have their final purpose inside the greater purpose of our God. It comforts me greatly to know that my friends who are ailing today and perhaps on their own deathbed, are in fact in the very hand of God. I may see only the suffering and the sadness of the situation. But if I look at Jesus, as He has asked me to do, then I too can be a witness to the fact that there is a bigger and fuller plan being fulfilled in this very moment. What comforts me more is that it is the plan of one who has loved you and I with a greater love that we can fathom. He has cared for us even when we do not deserve it.
It brings great glory to God on High, when us, His little children, turn our eyes and our hearts upwards and admit that we do not see. When we turn to Him in this way, we do not rely on our own powers but on His, for He sees clearly. This is faith and faith in something and someone who cannot fail as we can. Comfort and hope are ours when we trust in the words and actions of Jesus.
So when we read the Bible, pray that our eyes are opened to see how God was always trying to show us a bigger picture. The closer we come to Jesus and the more we trust Him, the more we see how shallow our ways of thinking and interpretations are. This too is good because it throws up back upon Jesus for hope and help.
Glory be to God, through Jesus Christ His son. May He increase His power to heal and restore each and every one of His little flock. May you and I seek to be that dear to Him that He sees our sincerity and takes us into His loving embrace.
Amen.
Scott W
Searching For Christ 
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