The following is told from the lips of Lazarus, the man whom Jesus raised from the dead. The story presents several different ways in which people respond to Christians when they are sick or suffering.
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I could not sleep most of the night. Tossing miserably, my mind refused to shut down. Neither would the pain vibrating throughout my body.
If I die, what will happen to my sisters … and my father? With the silversmith shop closed, who will provide for them? These were the worries that tormented my mind.
That evening my three closest friends, Nathan, Samuel, and Tobias, paid me a visit. I opened my eyes at the pounding of feet up the stairs toward my room.
After the men entered, they each stood around my bed and began to speak.
Nathan leaned forward, his face the picture of sadness.
Somberly he said, “Lazarus, you know that I lost my faith in God years ago. Like you, I was taught from childhood that YHWH would deliver our people from our oppressors. But there have been no signs of it. Not just for my generation, but for generations before me.
“All I see around me is pain, oppression, evil. And now here you are, a righteous man who loves God, sick and ready to die. Your sickness only confirms my doubts. A man must die with integrity. I want to encourage you, then, to give up your faith and die with integrity.”
Nathan stopped, and we looked at one another for a brief moment. I didn’t answer him.
Shaking his head in disagreement, Samuel leaned close to me and said, “Lazarus, as you know, I do not agree with our friend Nathan.
I believe YHWH’s promises are true and the Messiah is coming to deliver us. But you are mistaken to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah.
“If Jesus truly was the person He claims to be, where is He when you need Him most? If He was truly a prophet, He would have known about your sickness and healed you.
I don’t want you to die in a state of deception. Renounce your faith in Jesus and repent to God for believing this imposter. I believe God will forgive you if you do. There is still time.”
Tobias drew back, his face blank. “You know I love you, Lazarus,” he whispered. I nodded.
“And what I’m about to say is with the kindest of intentions. We know that God heals the righteous and afflicts the sinful. This sickness has come upon you for a reason. There is something in your life, some unconfessed or unrepented sin with which you have not yet dealt.
“I want you to get well. I beg you, therefore, to search your heart. Confess the sin that you have committed and seek redemption. I am assured that if you do this, God will heal you.”
I was speechless. The pain in my body moved to my heart. My friends meant well, but their words brought little comfort.
My muscles froze. I willed my face to turn to stone. I didn’t want my emotions to show. My lips tightened. Devastated, the heart-wrenching was almost too much for me.
It took me a little time to regain my composure. Still lying flat on my back, I mustered up the strength to open my mouth.
Their accusations still raged through my mind as I groped for an appropriate response.
“Friends, I know you all mean well. But I will tell you what is on my heart right now.”
I turned to Nathan. “I know that the God of our fathers lives, Nathan. Even though I cannot see it now, I believe He will fulfill His promises one day just as He always has. His timetable is not like ours. I will die trusting in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Nathan’s face sank into his chest.
At this point my throat tightened. Struggling to breathe, I looked into Samuel’s eyes and said, “I admit that I do not understand why Jesus hasn’t come to me yet. And I know that if He were here, I would be healed.
“But I trust Him, nonetheless. And I believe with all my heart that He is the promised One, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Of that I am sure. I expect Him to come and heal me soon. But even if He does not, I will die believing that He is the One to come.”
My heart pounded harder.
I looked over at Tobias. “Tobias, I have searched my heart before God, and I do not believe that there is anything I have done to bring this illness upon me. I cannot explain to you why I am sick. If I die, I will do so believing that I have not sinned against my God.”
My arms and hands went numb. My legs quickly followed. With my hand I motioned to Nathan to move his head near mine. “Call my sisters and father,” I whispered in his ear.
Mary, Martha, and my father rushed up the steps to my room. I looked at each of them with love in my eyes, struggling to utter my parting words. Martha’s hands trembled. Tears slid down her cheeks. Mary sobbed on the shoulder of my father.
I could feel the blood leave my face. But before I could say a word, I fell asleep.
I died in their presence.
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This is an excerpt from my book God’s Favorite Place on Earth.
The book addresses 18 specific struggles that Christians face in our time.
What a powerful passage…
Maybe I spent some time with a modern-day Lazarus recently…
I visited him in his hospital room where he is recovering from a motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed…
A few days earlier his heart had gone out of rhythm and sped up to 200 beats per minute.
They rushed him to a procedure room to shock his heart back into a regular rhythm.
“I won’t be able to sedate you,” said the doctor.
“Your blood pressure is so low sedation could kill you.”
“In the first second,” said my friend, “it felt like I flew off the table. In the next second I thought my body exploded. Then my head exploded.
“I told the doctor, ‘Never do that to me again!’”
“But five minutes later they did it one more time and then my heart went back into rhythm”
“After the second time, the doctor asked me, ‘If I have to do that again, should I just let you die?’”
“I thought of the pain I would avoid. I thought of meeting Jesus…”
“But then I thought about all the people I love and the fact that I am sure God has more for me to do here, and I said, ‘Do whatever you have to do to keep me alive.’”
I had gone to give my friend strength and encouragement, but he was the one who encouraged me.
Such a powerful story. I think people forget that we live in a real physical world. We are not just spirits propped up by a flesh and bones body. God doesn’t micromanage us and thus real events happen to us just as to unbelievers. I do believe our faith can walk us through unwelcome events whereas blame and guilt seldom speed that process. If my car has a blown engine, instead of asking why God did this to me I need to ask myself when was the last time I checked the oil and water.
Excellent analogy, Dan. Thx!
Frank, thanks for sharing this passage from God’s Favorite Place On Earth. I will have to agree, it is one of your best books. So easy to read, so insightful, and so very encouraging. After reading that passage again, really makes me want to go back and read the entire book again. Thanks brother, keep them coming. John M.
I suppose my experience has been a bit different. Rather than nay sayers and questioners, my questions or thoughts were more internal. I was diagnosed with incurable Neuroendocrine cancer just about a year ago. My battle was to look at myself as one who has cancer vs one who has Jesus. Of course I have both but which is the most powerful, the cancer which can take my life or Jesus who gave me life and allowed the cancer into my life to teach me many important lessons. I have had a few experiences when the Spirit spoke to my spirit in a tangible way – this was one of them. When I knew who was most powerful and that He is always, always good, questions were resolved and my fears dissolved
The book “God’s Favorite Place on Earth” has been a blessing to say the least. It tells the story in a way that I and our friends have not heard before. Jesus is truly looking for a home in this time to have a home where he is welcome and can be the head.
Thanks. It’s my best book, period.
Frank,
This narrative is powerful. Written in any other form it would not carry the weight as it does here. I will be spreading this as far and wide as my circle of influence goes.
My wife, 30 years old, suffers from several auto-immune diseases. Lupus has nearly killed her twice. She loves and serves Jesus in the most loving, committed way.
In spite of her and I praying daily for physical healing, with a strong faith that God can, well … God has not.
Your post reminds me of all our friends, who have given us countless advice over the years. I know they love us, and they want the suffering to end. But their solutions and formulas don’t help. The sense of blame they often produce is actually worst.
Thanks for this excerpt, Frank. It is an encouragement.
Thanks. Really sorry to hear all of this. I hope the post is shared countless times as it’s a real problem today in the Christian world.
Have you written about “divine healing” anywhere? This is a topic I really want to rethink.
Yes. A whole chapter in Jesus: A Theography. https://www.frankviola.org/books
Erik, I am sorry to here of your wife’s disease it can be a challenge. It gives us who have the experience of ongoing health issues to draw still closer to Jesus. And yes to be blamed of not being right with God might be the cause does come from those that can’t figure it out. But for us to be solid knowing God loves us and will never forsake us, knows all are hearts, knows the beginning from the end, all things work for the good to us who love Him etc.
Its now four years that I have had Guillain -Bar a auto-immune that put me flat on my back. I have a 80% recovery now and am very blessed as God is drawing my heart closer. Blessings on your journey