When I Am Weeping ~ He Weeps With Me

John 11:35 (KJV)

Jesus wept.

This is the shortest verse in the Bible but it carries an indepth message. I think about it a bit different these days. Last Fall when my brother called with the news that my father had been found in his front yard and he was gone I wept like I have never wept. In fact~ I cried for weeks. My tears would not stop falling and still today they will start out of the blue as I grieve the reality that my Dad is gone. I can't call him ~ hug him ~ tell him I love him or that I need him. 

In this passage Lazarus had died and his sisters were distraught. Lazarus was not old~it seemed he was gone all the sudden and way too soon. I get that~ my dad was only 63! I am sure many of you do too! Lazarus' sisters had questions. Why did Jesus not come earlier? He could have healed him if He would have been there~ Did He not care?

When Jesus finally arrives ~ Lazarus had been in the grave for four days. When Martha heard that their close friend ~Jesus was coming~ she ran to meet Him. She wanted answers. Last time Jesus had visited Martha grabbed her apron and headed for the kitchen. I get Martha. I am more like Martha than Mary. We are kindred sisters at heart. Knowing Martha personally he gives her an answer~ He said, "Your brother will rise again." 

Mary on the other hand is the tenderhearted sister. She was the one sitting at Jesus' feet the last time He visited. She asked the same questions as Martha but she was weeping~ her heart was broken in tiny pieces. I now understand Mary a bit more here of late. Jesus sees her crying and He is so moved by her grief that He weeps with her. 

Two women with two different personalities ~yet a Lord who understands them and loves them both for who they were. 

Sometimes I am like Martha. I want answers for the pain and the hurt that is breaking my heart. I want to do something~ fix it or at least I can bake a pie.  Through reading the Word and praying I find answers~peace ~hope and comfort. Jesus never lays out the complete picture for me but He does reassure me that He has it all under control. 

Yet ~ sometimes I am like Mary. My heart and soul are so broken that I don't need answers I just need to crawl up in His lap and weep. Just like Jesus asked Mary to come to Him ~He wants me to come to Him and in coming to Him I don't have to be ashamed of my tears. In fact my heart has a special healing just in knowing He weeps along with me.