Do you plan what you are going to do? Do you think through the options and decide on the best or correct action? Have you suffered consequences when you have not? Have you experienced things working out when you do? Have you considered Jesus did everything on purpose?
Sometimes, we make spur-of-the-moment decisions. We randomly decide we will stop for ice cream. We decide to buy the puppy in the window. We choose to run out the door when bad news is received, rushing to be of help. But often those decisions don’t work out well.
Jesus purposely went about His work. He made thoughtful decisions. He knew what His mission was and made every decision to accomplish that mission. In today’s passage, Jesus purposely decided to wait a couple more days. He didn’t rush to be with Martha and Mary. Perhaps He knew it was already too late to get to Lazarus before he died. I suspect Jesus intended for Lazarus to be in the tomb for four days to prove a point. From a Jewish perspective, once a person had been dead three days, they were no longer able to be resuscitated.
Regardless of the “why,” Jesus purposely waited. He arrived just when He intended to. He did exactly what He had already decided to do. He raised Lazarus from the dead against the objections of Martha, his sister. Jesus was not concerned about the Jewish understanding nor the fact there was a crowd watching Him as He stood outside the tomb.
We can learn a very valuable lesson from Jesus—take time to think about and plan our actions. I was once told by a Chief Warrant Officer when I was a young Corporal that no decision, short of life and death, is so important that we cannot take time to think about it. Jesus teaches us the same lesson. I submit that our lives would be much better if we abided by that advice.
I pray we all understand that Jesus did everything on purpose. I pray we learn a lesson from Jesus’ decisions. I pray we all decide to think and plan our actions rather than fly by the seat of our pants. Know Jesus made purposeful decisions. Learn from Him. Choose to think. Choose to plan. Choose to take a moment. Choose to make better decisions.
John 11:4-6 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Marty Pressey 