April 21, 2010, John 11

Key verse:

"Jesus wept."

John 11:35

Central truth:

Jesus has walked in our shoes, felt all of our pain, and faced our temptations.

HE HAS BEEN THERE

John 11:35 is not only the shortest verse in the Bible, but it is also one that reaffirms that Jesus was human and experienced sorrow and pain as we all do. Now in this particular case, it is difficult to discern whether He wept because of the pain his friends, Mary and Martha, were experiencing over the loss of their brother Lazarus or if He wept because of the crowd's and Mary and Martha's persistent unbelief or if He wept because He too had lost a friend. Either way, it shows His compassion for His fellow man.

Being a teacher of medical students, I hear many patient encounters with multiple questions from patients and the student’s responses. My pet peeve is when a student tells a patient that they know how they feel when they have absolutely no idea what that patient and their family are going through. A patient once told me that this discredits the most competent and compassionate of physicians. How do they know how I feel if they have not been walking in my shoes?! We have all been guilty of this at some point in our life. I tell the students to tell the patient that they can only imagine how they feel and that they are so sorry that they are going through this ordeal and to ask what they can do to help. The neat thing is that this opens a beautiful opportunity to witness to the patient. You can tell the patient and their family that someone truly has been there and share Jesus Christ with them. Believe it or not, most are quite receptive and open to the conversation. Pretty cool! We are put in this situation a lot in our everyday life when dealing with friends, family and colleagues. This can happen in any situation when someone you know is hurting. Try to take advantage of this window of opportunity to share the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

We have an awesome, mighty Lord and He has been there and He knows how we feel. Jesus was tempted by Satan, betrayed and denied by friends, mocked by His own, distrusted by the Church, condemned by the worldly government, and sacrificed for us. Wow! Mark Schultz shares this beautifully in his song, “I have been there.” I love the chorus of this song:

Oh, I have been there
I know what fear...pain...sorrow is all about
Yes, I have been there
And I am standing with you now
I have been there
And I came to build a bridge
Oh so this road could lead you home
This road could lead you home
Oh I have been there
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ2jDUGcOsk (can this be made live so the reader can connect to this site)

Take a moment, close your eyes, listen to Mark’s song, and know that the Lord Jesus Christ has been there for you and will continue to be there for you no matter what.

Prayer: Lord please help me to remember that you are always here with me and that there is nothing that I will go through here on Earth that you have not already been through and personally experienced. Please remind me to share this comfort with others who are hurting and need a true friend. Amen.