Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Comfort, in and of itself does not make the future brighter. It is the blessed hope that puts the sadness of life into the correct perspective, and from this we derive the hope of the better world to come. Hence the reason why Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, to certify to all humanity that God has power to resurrect and to impart life, to all who believe. As Mary and Martha mourned the loss of Lazarus, the issue of mortality again came into view.
The narrative is written, both to comfort our hearts and to inform our perspectives, so that even though we must confront our own mortality at some point in time, at least we would have the assurance that The Lord will raise to life, all those who trust in Him. As we read, there will be some highlights that would brighten our pathway, and would greatly help in the process of recovery after the loss of your friends or family.
Persons who are closely associated with Christ can, and do get sick at times. Persons who work for the building up of God’s kingdom can fall ill, for its just a part of our humanity. Diligence, and faithfulness in doing God’s work does not necessarily prevent all sickness, for even Ellen White fell sick on numerous occasions. In fact, she lost two of her own children, and later lost her husband while doing God’s work, so when we read in the narrative of Lazarus, that a certain man was sick, the words identify with experiences we are all familiar with.
John 11:1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!