Logical Martha, Emotional Mary
We have a Father whose love is abundant. ‘Only believe’ is a refrain of His constant love song to us. ‘Only believe’ tells us that there is no distance too far to be bridged, and the outstretch of that bridge is our faith. We reach God with this faith; and He never disappoints.
When Jesus was told about the sickness of Lazarus, He delayed coming. His delay, we know, was calculated to let matters get worse. And worse, matters got; Lazarus died. And as Jesus approached Martha and Mary’s, Lazarus’s sisters, neighborhood in Bethany to now address the current state of Lazarus, Martha rushed to meet Him and said: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You. John 11:22.
This is remarkable. Martha had just lost her brother, yet she reasoned that there was still hope. Though she reasoned, her reasoning was rooted in faith in who she believed Jesus to be. Her reason was rooted in faith because we see later in their conversation that she believed Jesus could ask anything of God since He was the Son of God: Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world. Verse 27. She believed Jesus is the Son of God (faith), and reasoned that the Son could ask anything of His Father (logic).
Before then, however, we see Jesus assured Martha by reiterating that He was the resurrection and the life, and that since He gave life, it really didn’t matter that Lazarus was now dead. He, the giver of life, could give him life if He wanted. See John 11:25-26. And this explanation and assurance, being sufficient for Martha, led to her Verse 27 confession. Jesus reached Martha at her logical level.
Mary, Martha’s sister, was a little different. A little while after Martha’s conversation with Jesus, Mary approached Jesus with pretty much the same opening statement as her sister had. Jesus, however, did not explain or assure Mary. Instead, Jesus wept. Verse 35. Jesus saw Mary weeping, so He wept with her.
Profiling these two sisters tells me that neither emotion nor reason nor logic creates too great a distance that God’s love cannot reach if we believe. See, Martha was the sister who would later host Jesus and would run around cooking, cleaning because she had an august visitor in her house. Martha was the one who reasoned that when someone as important as Jesus visits your house, you go all out to welcome them.
Mary, on the other hand, would simply pursue quality time with Jesus. She was emotive like that. Mary would simply want the pleasure of Jesus’s company. And while it absolutely makes sense to entertain this august and important highest of royalty, Mary would simply want to bond with Jesus. So she would later sit at His feet and converse with Him. Though this account is not in the Bible, I imagine she asked Him about His day, how His ministry was going, if He heard about that new hang-out in Bethany, if His disciples were acting right or if Judas was still stealing money (See John 12:6), if the sons of Zebedee had gotten their anger issues under control (See Luke 9:53-55). I imagine Jesus talked about going about His Father’s business. I imagine the pleasure of Jesus’ company was enough for Mary. This same Mary was the one who later anointed Jesus with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair. See John 11:2, John 12:3. Mary was entirely about the softer and more personal relationship with her Lord Jesus. Yet, Jesus reached her at her emotional level.
Jesus explained to logical Martha, and wept with emotional Mary.
It does not matter what our journey is, Jesus can walk it with us. It doesn’t matter where we are, the love of God reaches us. It does not matter what death stone is blocking the entrance to the cave where we buried those dreams we thought God would make come true but instead they died, the love of God is ready to walk with us all the way to resurrection breakthrough.
Weather you need it explained to you or you simply need the comfort of God through the Holy Spirit, I want to encourage you today, God’s love is not one size fit all. He has a tailor-made love that fits your situation.
Only believe and leave the rest to Him.
By Sister Bolaji Akisanya