A crisis showed its face in a family in a town called Bethany. “Mary, please dial Jesus on His mobile phone and tell Him about Lazarus.” Martha said. “Tell Him we will book His flight on the first plane back here. If He is close by, tell Him we’ll send an ambulance with Lazarus to meet Him wherever He is, but please tell Him it is very urgent”.
The family consisted of Lazarus and his two sisters, Martha and Mary. One day, Lazarus fell ill, seriously ill.
How frustrating it must have been for the two sisters desiring to call Jesus but not knowing where He would be. They would have loved to have our modern facilities to contact Him.
Jesus was not far from them but how did you get in touch those days, other than by asking people to give Him a message when they meet Him.
It becomes clear that this family loved Jesus very much and Jesus similarly, loved them very much (John 11:5). The two sisters managed to get the message to Jesus, informing Him that Lazarus, whom He loved, was sick. They put all their hope on the speedy return of Jesus but…. He did not show, and alas, Lazarus died! They buried him and for four days, Jesus still did not show up.
If we experience a crisis and need a doctor, we have modern means to take the sick person to the doctor or the ER. We can just pick up a phone and call whomever we might need. We have normal telephones, cellular phones, SMS’s, Facebook, Twitter and many instruments to communicate with people.
Martha and Mary had none of these to assist them. However, the message did reach Him. They knew He got the message because both of them blamed Him for not being present, as if He knew but chose not to come. In the end, we know that Jesus knew what would happen and that He would raise Lazarus from the dead.
What a wonderful privilege we as Christians have, being in the close and immediate presence of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. So close to us, only a whispering voice call away, the stretching-out-of-our-hand, the inner presence closeness never-to-be-absent near us.
Fact remains, regardless of the reality that Jesus is close to us, He desires to be noticed and loved by us, not only in times of crisis. We are so busy with our own stuff while only sending Him short valentine type messages occasionally. The time to seek Him and spend quality time with Him is now.