Home
>
Spirituality
>
For the Glory of God

For the Glory of God

One of the most touching stories in New Testament scripture is the gripping drama of two sisters and a brother; Mary, Martha and Lazarus. It illustrates how two sisters dealt with grief following the death of their brother. This story is so filled with meaning that John devotes an entire chapter to it.

Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived in the village of Bethany, not too distant from Jerusalem. Jesus was a close personal friend of Lazarus and no doubt He probably visited their home on many occasions. Lazarus' home may have been like a hospitality station for Jesus and His disciples on their frequent trips to the capital.

One day, Jesus received news that Lazarus was sick and his sisters were requesting that Jesus come to visit. Scripture tells us that Jesus did not drop everything and make haste to go see Lazarus. On the contrary, He took His time and lingered on the other side of the Jordan River for two whole days before venturing toward Bethany where this family resided. Nevertheless, Jesus did send a message to the sisters saying, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."

Maybe you can relate to these sisters. Maybe your prayer and cry was the same as Mary and Martha's. Maybe you called upon His name and sent a word to heaven asking for the healing of your loved one. But, Jesus lingers and sends word to you that, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." How do you respond?

Jesus continues on about His business. He takes His time. He was not in any hurry to get to Lazarus.

There is an important insight that we do not want to miss here. It is simple truth; we cannot hurry God. God cannot and will not be pressured to work as we so will. We try all kinds of tricks and manipulations to get each other to hurry up and do what we want. But it does not work with God. God does not come running just because we call. It is so unfortunate that we are forever trying to understand what we cannot understand instead of just trusting God to do as He promised He would. We put ourselves through so much grief trying to access what is not available to us when we want it. We want to impose our time frame on God. So often we want Jesus to do things in our time but He cannot be persuaded or compelled by man. He works within the freedom of His own will and on His own initiative. Now, sometimes God will act immediately and other times we have to wait on Him. Mary and Martha did not understand the delay, the disciples didn't understand the delay, friends of the family did not understand the delay and we do not understand, but Jesus did. He was setting the stage for the great miracle He was going to perform.

We must also understand that how God works in our lives is not always meant to be just for us. Sometimes, indeed most of the time, God is acting with a purpose of demonstrating His power to those around us for His glory. We may already be believers, but maybe those around us are not. God will use our circumstance as a means of showing His powers in such a way that observers may be lead to believe in Him and call upon His name.

Well, at last Jesus appears in Bethany. Even before He met Martha and Mary He knew Lazarus had died. In fact, that was the reason for His delay. He was waiting for Lazarus to die. How else could He perform the raising of Lazarus from the dead? Of course, the sisters did not know this. Martha's adrenaline was flowing as she ran to meet Him and probably in an admonishing tone said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." A short time later Mary came and knelt at His feet and said the same thing, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus was deeply touched by Mary's tears of pain and felt compassion by their lack of understanding and began to weep Himself.

You know the story. Jesus went to Lazarus tomb and called upon God the Father to raise him up and old man Lazarus got up from the grave.

But I think it is critical that we realize that this event was not so much for the life of Lazarus, or for His love of Mary and Martha, as it was for the glory of God and His Son. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead so men might recognize Him as God through His display of divine power. Remember, there were two groups who were present at the funeral of Lazarus. His disciples were present to witness His power over death so their faith would be increased and the Jewish people were there to witness His power over death so they might believe He was their awaited Messiah. He was performing a miracle of unbelievable power in calling the dead to life. This is clear because spiritually speaking; Lazarus was called back from life into death. He was brought back into the land of the dying only to die again.

It is our Christian business to glorify and magnify God in all that we say, do and think. The glory we give God is nothing less than our lifting up His name in the world, magnifying Him in the eyes of others, being advocates of His truth and living obediently by His word. For us, everything is for the glory of God.

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available soon.

You are welcome to visit amen ministries: your soul's service station for spiritual refreshing, soul edification, browse our newly expanded mini shopping mall or review our recommended books you may want to add to your personal library.

Blessings to all!

professional maid services Deerfield ..

In The News:

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

A new phishing scam targets family photos with fake "Cloud Storage Full" alerts. Criminals steal credit card information through fake sites. Learn protection tips.

South Korean scientists create ultra-thin fabric muscles that turn clothes into robotic assistants, lifting 33 pounds while weighing under half an ounce.

Archer Aviation has acquired Hawthorne Airport for $126M to launch an LA air taxi network ahead of the 2028 Olympics, featuring AI-powered eVTOL operations and next-gen aviation tech.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

For the Glory of God

Spirituality