Then I remembered Martha and Mary. Ah. Martha was worried and upset abt many things even when she was trying to prepare some food for the Lord, who had happened to drop by. :)
Yeah, a sweet reminder. And we talk abt a Martha attitude negatively, saying tt we shouldnt be like her. Frankly, i think if Jesus were to hear that, he would tick us off. For he loved Martha too.
For when Lazarus her brother died, Martha, it seems to me, was the more emotionally stable one. She was able to still talk w the Lord and express her honest confidence in Him, saying, "Lord, if you had been here, my bro would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
And when the Lord challenged Martha to believe that He was the resurrection and the life, she replied in her classic direct, no-fuss manner: "Yes, Lord, I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
But Mary, in her brokenness, simply cried at the Lord's feet, possibly with a tinge of teary-eyed accusation mixed with blinding grief: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." And she just left it at that and wept.
I wonder which one of the sister's responses would I imitate when grief and sorrow come my way? Would I simply tell God, "Lord, if You had done this, this horrible thing would have never happened." and leave it at that? Or would I continue to hope in God that yet even now He is able to do whatever He wants?
It's so fascinating, this study of two sisters and how the Lord engaged both of them according to their different personalities. Both were suffering the same kind of loss: the death of their dear brother; yet one He boldly stretched, the other He compassionately comforted. One He reminded her of the truth of God's Word, the other He just wept with.
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