Privilege Can Wait.

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21)

Now when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32)

In this past Sunday’s sermon, Reverend Dr. Bud Reedy brought up an important question for us to consider: When we are in crisis, do we expect that Jesus will grant us special favors because we are “tight” with Him? There is a prevailing notion that our joyful tithing, our presence in church, our participation in ministry, and our faithfulness in prayer are tokens that garner privilege with God, and that therefore He is somehow “obligated” to immediately rescue us from every crisis that comes our way.

In the John 11 narrative, Martha and Mary expressed a sentiment that is not unusual in Christian circles: Jesus, if You had shown up when we asked for You, then we could have been spared from this tragedy. As Pastor Bud noted, there is a sense that Jesus is supposed to “drop everything and come running” when we call Him. But let us consider Jesus. His desire is to obey His Father, even if the path of obedience brings pain. He did not refuse the way of the cross.

“Jesus responded, ‘Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?’” (John 11:40) Sometimes, our experience of God’s glory is birthed through tragedy. Sometimes, our “privileged” status as lovers of Jesus even makes us a target for tragedy, as Satan seeks to turn our devotion away from our Lord (see Job 1:9-11). When those tragic moments touch our lives and break our hearts, let us continue to rest in the goodness of God.

Lord Jesus, You are the One who can reach into tragedy and extract Glory. May You be glorified in us today.