John 11: 25 – 26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

I am so glad it was Jesus speaking to Martha on this subject. Resurrection – it is so mind-blowing a concept that I really would have a problem with it if Jesus had not addressed it in his lifetime in the earth. I am also glad he was speaking to her in her darkest hour while she was trying to come to grips with the death of her beloved brother Lazarus. Why? Because when someone you love dies, there is no place to find hope except in the fact that death does not separate a believer from the love of God, rather he waits to welcome that loved one home and you will see them again at the resurrection. Any other outcome is too terrible to contemplate. There is just too much nothingness. This is why I believe it is so important for every individual to accept Christ and the salvation he brings.

You will experience the pain of loss, confusion, and even anger and, just like Martha and Mary, you will have questions. Martha acknowledged that she knew there would be a resurrection on the last day. But Jesus wanted to address her over-arching need to understand how important it was for her to believe in him in the moment and that what he was saying to her was truth. Since Jesus knew exactly what he was going to do about Lazarus, I think he wept when he saw the depth of Martha’s grief and that what she believed about the resurrection was not complete. He understands our grief too and knows that we will be tempted to doubt everything we have believed about him. But he wants us to consider afresh whether we do believe in the resurrection and his resurrection in particular, so that will have hope when faced with grief. His resurrection confounds and triumphs over everything that opposes God. There is nothing I believe in that builds resiliency more, and is liberating and faith sustaining.

I recall the sudden death of someone in my extended family which shocked us all. On day three after the news I was reading a devotional about temptation. (See Hebrews 2:18; 4:14-16; 1 Corinthians 10:13). Never would I have made a linkage between temptation, grief and unbelief, but the Holy Spirit did:

“Do not allow your spirit to be defiled by unbelief.  There is temptation of the physical but there is temptation on a spiritual level also. Such is the nature of grief. It brings into question your faith in a holy, righteous and loving God. Do not yield to the temptation of unbelief.”