“ ‘Take away the stone,’ he said. ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’ ” (John 11:39-40).
Lazarus had been dead for four days when Jesus came on the scene. The Jews thought that the spirit, once it had left the body, stayed around for a few days but four days was beyond the limit. If there had been hope for a miracle before, no one believed it now. This was simply too late. That’s why Martha objected when Jesus ordered that the stone blocking the entrance to the tomb be taken away.
What Jesus did next not only established that He was able to act when all hope was gone; it identified this miracle with the glory of God. Some see God as an imposing, critical Judge who is looking for reasons to punish us. They see His glory as an impenetrable barrier to those of us who aren’t perfect.
That isn’t what God is like at all. His glory is in His reaching out to us through human impossibilities to bring life where there has been death. When we have given up on a situation, it is God’s glory to perform a miracle and reverse the circumstances that seem so against us.
The truth Jesus revealed to Martha is still the truth that sustains us today. “If you believe, you will see the glory of God.” When we believe in Jesus there is nothing so irreversible that He can’t change it. He can stand in front of our dreams and hopes that have died and speak life to them. That is how He shows us His glory.
