Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-27)
A crisis on the golf course can lead to a meltdown. A crisis in life can lead to a breakdown. How we think about a crisis matters. Our thinking directly affects our attitudes and emotions, impacting those around us.
Scripture encourages us to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5) and to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). These imperatives expect that, with the indwelling Holy Spirit’s help, we can change our disruptive and destructive thought patterns when it matters most.
In John 11, Jesus gets the news that his good friends Mary and Martha are panicked by the death of their brother Lazarus. They send word to Jesus to come to their hometown to rescue them in their distress. Jesus, whose public ministry is growing rapidly, delays a few days and heads to Bethany to care for Mary and Martha. The story continues:
[upon arrival] Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now, God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die, and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
Jesus answers Martha’s panicked request in peculiar way. He assures Martha that her brother Lazarus will rise from the dead. But with a pointed question, Jesus redirects Martha’s thinking from her grief in the moment to his true identity. Jesus tells Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life…” Martha, what do you believe about me in this midst of this crises?
Every tragedy that Jesus remedied, every broken body that he healed, served a singular purpose: to display God’s unmatched goodness through the life of his son Jesus Christ. The biggest question we will answer in life’s most challenging moments will always be, “Do you believe this?”
Our answer, which will frame the entirety of our lives and at the end of our lives, will either carry us through our darkest moments or push us to despair. And our answer will matter not only for our well-being but to all our life touches.
Lazarus would eventually die again, and Martha would face life’s biggest recurring question again. “Do you believe this?” Martha’s through-line for life; “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Savior, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
Prayer: Lord, I believe. Help me when I waiver. May your strength in me be a strength for others.