On Matters of Life and Death...

A very dear friend to Eric's parents lost her battle to cancer today. My heart just wants to be still before God in this moment. I remember losing Kiley and being so frustrated that the world didn't stop to grieve with us. It just went on as if our hearts hadn't been shattered into a million pieces. And so, I stop for a while and in the recesses of my heart, reflect on a woman of God and the ones that have been thrown into such heartache.

My heart is heavy and I think I can better understand spiritually why death puts such a burden upon my soul. Upon all our souls.

In Bible study (John 11), I was confronted with the question of why Jesus was deeply moved when his friend Lazarus had died. I had always assumed it meant that he was filled with grief for the loss of his friend. On deeper study, I learned that the Greek word for "deeply moved" is "embrimaomai" which means "angry in spirit" .

Jesus was angry? We see that he is deeply moved right after he witnesses Mary weeping. (The Greek word for weeping here conveys that she is wailing loudly.) So, what is it, exactly, that makes him so mad? I think it is death. Plain and simple. Jesus hates death and it makes him agitated and angry to see his loved ones suffer the consequences of the grief that death brings about.

As creator, He simply didn't invent death. Sin brought it about. It was never in His plan. His story has always been about life. Abundant life. Seeing how death has marred his plans, well, it makes him angry. The Greek connotation is that it makes him as angry as a snorting animal...like a horse.

I think it is personally interesting that in verse 35 where we learn that Jesus weeps, it isn't the same kind of weeping that Mary was doing. He isn't wailing loudly as if all hope were lost. After all, He is hope. He is resurrection and life.

For whatever reason, it gives me a peace inside to know that Jesus gets riled up over this thing called death. He gets mad about it, people! When he sees what death does to those left behind, he goes around snorting like an angry horse. And, for some reason, that is comforting to me.

It does my heart good that He just isn't up in Heaven saying that everything will be OK, whispering sweet nothings into our ear. He feels what we feel! He is mad about death! We know Christ's heart is to do away with death, as he did with Lazarus. His whole redemption plan was to do away with death! And praise God, he came to earth to set us free from spiritual death if we trust him to do so.

John 11:26 says "And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?" In a sense, if we have received Christ's life, then how can Christ's life stop living? It continues, but in a different location. Our souls truly never taste death.

"One day soon you will hear that I am dead. Do not believe it. I will then be alive as never before." Dwight Moody

When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise,
Than when we first begun.