The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

John 11:17-25, “So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.

18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off;

19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.

20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him; but Mary still sat in the house.

21 Martha therefore said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

22 ‘Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.’

23 Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother shall rise again.’

24 Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’

25 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies.’”

There could hardly have been a better lesson for Martha and Mary. Lazarus, their brother had died,

and Jesus had come to comfort them. I remember so clearly my pastor coming when my grandfather

died. Just seeing him was a comfort. Yet, with Jesus there was to be more than mere comfort. He was

there to prepare Mary and Martha for His own coming death.

We sometimes neglect to view the whole picture. When we are troubled, we see only a part of what

is intended. Our focus is clouded by the immediate circumstances. But there is more. The late Charlie

Riggs was the crusade director for the Billy Graham Crusade in St. Louis in 1973. I remember him saying,

“If Sir Isaac Newton had said, ‘What happened?’ when an apple fell from the tree and hit him, someone

would have replied, ‘You silly fool. An apple fell from the tree and hit you.’ But, Newton said, ‘What is

happening?’ And that led him to discover the Law of Gravity.”

Apply that thought to the verses above. Lazarus’ death gave Jesus the opportunity to teach Martha

and Mary that death was not the final end of life. Jesus Himself is the “resurrection and the life.” He

was crucified and buried, but He arose from the dead! But, that’s not all. He assures us that all who

believe in Him will live eternally, even beyond physical death. To believe is to trust. And that is our

hope as Christians! No other religion offers that hope! So, when we witness to others, we are giving

them a hope that they can get nowhere else except in and through Jesus Christ.

We love you and we pray for you every, single day,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”