Nearer My God To Thee

John 11:36-37
The people who were standing nearby said, "see how much he loved him!" But some said, "This man healed a blind man. Couldn't he have kept Lazarus from dying?"

Jesus was standing at the tomb of Lazarus, a man who Jesus loved deeply. Jesus had eaten supper with Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. Now death, the great invader, had come to take Lazarus. But this death was to be a example and point to the glory of God.

Scripture said there were people standing "nearby".
They were in close proximity to Jesus but were not next to Him.
Yet these two groups had made judgment based on what they say, concerning who Jesus truly was.
One was moved by His heart........"See how much Jesus loves Lazarus".
The other group moved by the fact that Jesus didn't go beyond and do more than what they were seeing.
Two groups who each had defined who Jesus was. Yet each of these groups stood off a distance and made their decisions based on what they saw.

People still tend to act this way even today. People have opinions about who Jesus is and what he is doing.
One claims........oh Jesus is a God of love. His love supersedes everything else. Jesus wouldn't send you to hell. There is some truth to these statements. Jesus is love. Jesus gave his life for humanity. But there is a judgment side that must be handed out also. Read Revelation 19 and you won't see much of the loving Jesus in that chapter. You see a military Jesus, getting ready to come back in judgment.

There is another group who is always criticizing the plans and works of God. Where was God in that tsunami that killed all those people? Where was God on 9/11? Where was God when that football player from Mississippi State died of Cancer? Where was God....Where was God...Where was God? These words come from hearts that truly do not know God. I make no claims to some kind of elite Christian. But what I know above all else is that no matter what happens in my life, good or bad, God is still God and He is still worthy to be worshipped. Sometimes in midst of pain and grief........when sorrow and darkness grip your very soul and you think, "I can't go on." It is there you find the sufficiency of Christ. That one bit of illumination that the Holy Spirit uses to break through and show you what real truth is.

So don't be one of those who stand at a distance and make assumptions about Jesus.
Enter into relationship with Him....
Be Saved....
Be Born Again.....
Be Redeemed......
Be all of the above and then live everyday up close and personal with Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit in you.
I'm telling you this morning that even in the middle of all the mess of my own life........God is in control and He is worthy to be praised.

God on you.....
mb