Jesus Wept

I was reminded of this verse in Relief Society today. It has been reflected on in many different ways and at many different times by others. The meaning that has been most powerful to me though, especially at the end of my mission (which was the most difficult era for me) is how it displays Christ's compassion. If you haven't read it recently, check out John 11. This is where Lazareth dies BECAUSE Christ tarries despite his family's pleas to come and heal him. We know now that Christ tarried in order for Lazareth to be considered truly dead by Jewish law (they believed it took 3 days for the spirit to leave the body) and thus prove His divinity by raising Lazareth from the dead, but they didn't know that. For them they waited anxiously, wondering why the Lord could possibly "tarry" while such a trial was at hand. I am sure the moments were agonizing, as their eyes searched the road for any indication that their Savior would come to them in this their time of greatest need. Yet He did not come, and seemingly, all was lost. I find it interesting, because when Christ did arrive, Mary and Martha both expressed Faith in Him AND His plan. One testifies that had Christ been there "my brother had not died" but that she KNEW that her brother would rise again in the Resurrection, that in the end it would be OK. She had the testimony of the Plan of Salvation LONG before Christ had officially conquered death. But the Resurrection must have felt a long ways away. Comfort felt far away. Hope felt far away. At that moment Christ knew that in a matter of SECONDS the very cause of sorrow for Mary/Martha would become an incredible joy as Lazareth came forth from the grave. Despite this knowledge, despite that to Him and His eternal perspective their pain may have seemed silly or short sighted, He did not say "It is going to be OK, be patient and get with the program, I'm about to wake your brother up" or "use your faith to cheer up and realize this isn't permanent" or "no matter how much I tell you guys about my power you still have cause for sadness?". What he did do was weep. He wept not for Lazareth or his death, he wept for THEIR pain, THEIR sorrow, THEIR discomfort. He knew they didn't know what lay ahead, He knew that they felt like Lazareth was gone until the second coming, He knew that they felt that this pain was unbearable and would last perhaps until their own deaths, He knew that they FELT pain DESPITE their Faith. So He wept. He wept with them.

I cannot even tell you the comfort it gives me to know that Christ can comfort me when I fail to see the big picture despite His ability to see it. He weeps with us, He really does, even if we are moments away from the greatest miracles of our lives. He weeps because He knows we felt alone because He "tarried" to better prove His divinity to us. He weeps because He knows how it feels. Most of all, He weeps because He loves us.

He Loved Me Enough to Turn Off the A/C

When we begin to forget God, He will stop the flow of
blessings so that we turn to Him again.

I have always admired my Dad's creative mind-except when he has used it to prove a point. The occasion that I am thinking of is a time when he, my mother, my little sister, and I were all driving to Vegas to see a concert. It was the middle of the summer in the afternoon and it was a scorching hot desert to drive through, but of course, it didn't matter too much due to the wonderful invention of air conditioning. Soon I was so comfortable in my backseat with a pillow against the window and my headphones in that I began to doze off. My poor Dad was driving and soon I wasn't the only one asleep-my mother and sister had succumbed to the comfort of modern travel. Feeling a little lonely I'm sure, he began to try to make small talk with us but his efforts were fruitless. We would each give him a sleepy one word response and fall back asleep. Soon he gave up....or so we thought.

All I remember was that slowly I began to get a tad on the warm side. Being sleepy it didn't seem to register too much. But as time passed I went from discomfort to hot to sweaty and miserable; miserable enough to wake up fully and inquire why it was so hot. I wasn't alone. My mother soon piped in "Hey Mike, why is it so hot in here?" I happened to look up just in time to see my Dad grin like the Cheshire cat in the rear view mirror as he said "Oh, does it seem a little warm in here to you?"

He went on to explain that he had tried to get our attention with the small talk but as none of us seemed to be paying much attention to him he decided to cut off the flow of air, hoping to sweat us out. I believe he also justified this act by mentioning it was also giving us an opportunity to feel like the pioneers must have when they crossed the United States in heat. Really, he told us, it was a blessing in disguise. 

And you know what-it was, because I was able to enjoy the rest of the drive getting to know my Dad better, something I would've lost had the a/c stayed on. This is the same exact way our Heavenly Father looks at things. There is a verse in Helaman 12:3 that says:

"And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence they will not remember him"

God will always wait patiently for us to awake and turn to Him

God knows what makes us most happy. He knows, like my Dad knows, that there a lot of things in life we can try to do to "pass the time" on our journey in life. But just as my Dad knows that falling asleep while listening to an IPod will never bring us as much joy as being able to have meaningful conversation with a loving Father, God knows nothing can replace the relationship we could have with Him. In those times when we seem to get distracted or forget or are too comfortable to talk to God He will withdraw the blessings that flow so easily into our lives. It is not out of punishment or anger but really out of love, for He knows that a little bit of hardship for a time is well worth the prize of remembering to call upon our loving Father-he knows that those blessings are far better than going through life comfortably distracted. And most of all, no matter how far away Heavenly Father gets from our minds, it is a comfort to know that we are never far from His-no matter how long we go without noticing Him. (Mosiah 27:30) He will never forget nor forsake us, and will do anything it takes to help us remember Him, so that we may be truly happy in this life.

You Reap What you Sow

Satan tries to act like a saw; he tells us we can pick up one
end of the stick without the other...

Growing up I would often wonder a very important question-why did our saw have "Satan" written on it in big, bold, black letters? My mind would run through many possibilities; because it can be dangerous, because it's old, or because Satan most likely has sharp teeth too. One day I finally decided to ask my mother. She laughed and went on to tell me about my Grandpa. My Grandpa has spent many years in educating youth and young adults in the Church, and because of this he has many object lessons up his sleeve. He used to teach lessons on how Satan is like a saw. Often he tells you you can pick up one end of the stick and then he'll come saw off the other-you get to act consequence free. The trick was he had metal under the stick-no matter how hard you sawed that stick would not cut in half-Satan can never rob the laws of the universe and God. You cannot just pick up one end of the stick.
This morning I read a scripture that really brought this concept to heart. It was in Mosiah 7:29-32:
"For behold, the Lord hath said: I will not succor my people in the day of their transgression; but I will hedge up their ways that they prosper not; and their doings shall be as a stumbling block before them. And again, he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and the effect thereof is poison. And again he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the east wind, which bringeth immediate destruction. And now, behold, the promise of the Lord is fulfilled, and ye are smitten and afflicted."  In other words, "wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10).

God doesn't punish us at harvest,
He simply lets us reap what we sow

A lot of times we take "the truth to be hard"
(1 Nephi 16:1-3) because we know what we are doing is wrong, and deep down, making us miserable. It is literally impossible to live a life out of line with God's will and be happy. Why? Not because God is out to punish us if we don't do it His way, but because God loves us and knows exactly what will and won't make us happy. He lets us know what these things are; they are called commandments. If we feel frustrated because what we want to do seems to not make us happy, its not the laws of God that need a change, its us. It would be like a ship asking a lighthouse to move out of the way.
We cannot expect to sow weeds and reap carrots; it just doesn't make sense. God doesn't make us miserable once harvest hits; He just simply lets us reap what we sow.
I know that God truly is our loving Heavenly Father. Just like any parent He wants nothing more than for us to be truly happy, and He is showing us and pleading with us to follow His path to this joy. Because He loves us He will never tell us what we want to hear, but rather beg, plead, and even at times sternly tell us what will make our lives better and more fulfilled. When we understand and feel His love for us we will want to follow His commandments, because we know that these things will make us happy. We will know which seeds to sow.

More on this:
Love and Law by Dallin H. Oaks

Joseph

Joseph to me is one of the most amazing characters of the Nativity. I often think about his quiet and firm example to us all. I think first of all we see that he is the kind of man worthy to marry Mary-the mother of the Son of God. That alone says a lot about this man. The second thing I notice about him is his charity. When he discovers Mary pregnant he had the power to have her stoned-he could have had his "revenge". Instead we are told in the Bible "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily." (Matthew 1:19) Joseph loved Mary, he loved her enough to not to embarrass of chastise her but do all he could to help her. I think it was his charity that helped him receive his own heavenly messenger confirming that Mary was the mother of Christ and that he, Joseph, was to marry Mary and care for them both. I can only imagine how hard it would be to be the "step" father of the Son of God. I certainly would feel  inadequate to "fill-in" as Christ's earthly father to teach, meet his needs, and be an example to him; but he took the job gladly. Joseph was also an honest man. He went to pay his taxes when asked despite the hardships of traveling with a very pregnant women. He cared for his family and searched diligently for a place for them but when none was available he did all he could for them anyways. Christ worked alongside him in his carpentry and I am sure Christ watched Joseph as Christ grew "in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." (Luke 2:52) I love Joseph for his humble yet courageous example as a father and husband and as a servant of the Lord. We too can be as Joseph and seek to love and not find fault, live our callings and obey the Lord, and seek to better be an example of faith and help those around us watch, change, and "glorify our father" (Matthew 5:16).

Borne of Four

This story in the New Testament has always been a favorite of mine. I love that four friends make it possible for a man to change his life. This young man, sick of palsy, hears of Christ and seeks to be by him. Sadly, he cannot get there on his own. So, his friends take him to the house Christ is at, but are met with a road-bump; the house is far too full for them to crowd in with their friend in his bed. Not ones to be easily discouraged they decide to "simply" carry their friend to the roof, take off the top of the roof, and let him down by rope to the Savior. That in and of itself is a story worth thinking about. But what I love most is what happens next. After this herculean effort, Christ tells the man "thy sins are forgiven thee." Imagine how this man must feel. After all of that he is still stuck in a bed, and now, there is a large crowd staring at him in the center of the room, wondering what he is doing there. On top of all this, some Pharisees begin to mumble, saying "Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?" (Mark 2:7). Of course Christ realizes what is going on, and he asks them a powerful question, "Why reason ye these things in your hearts. Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?" (Mark 2:8-9 )I find that a very fair question. But I love what Christ does next. He turns to the man with palsy and says, "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed and go thy way into thine house." (Mark 2:10-12) 

What I love about this story is that to me it is a perfect teaching moment for all of us. There were two types of miracles this man witnessed; the healing of his physical ailment and the healing of his spiritual ailment. To me, initially, the physical healing was most impressive. In my limited perspective I thought that young man would be most thrilled to be able to walk again, I mean, that is why he came in the first place, right? To me that was the miracle. And yet Christ asked the Pharisees, is it easier to forgive sin or enable this man to walk again? That made me think. I looked back at that very fair question-which is easier? And I realized that the real miracle was far beyond that young man being able to walk again. I saw the two miracles a little differently. Christ essentially looked at the young man and offered him two things; the taking away of a trial (physical healing), and the enabling to deal with trial (spiritual healing). And I have to ask myself; what would I rather have? Would I rather have my miracle be the taking away of trials? It would certainly be easier for me and for God to do. But wouldn't I much rather have the more permanent solution? Wouldn't I rather have the Atonement work within me so that no matter what happens or doesn't happen in my life I can still feel happy? That when tragedy strikes I am prepared to deal with it, grow, and keep moving rather than just try to survive it til it goes away? In Helaman 5:12 it says-"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." As I read this I realize that that is the greatest miracle of all. That is the power of Christ through His infinite Atonement. That when the raging storms and winds of life hit, they shall have no power to make me miserable, downcast, impatient, despairing, angry, or anything else for that matter. I begin to realize the real miracle of Christ. I begin to realize which miracle I should seek after, and which miracle that young man of palsy would treasure most. And yet I remember that, in His mercy, Christ heals him physically as well. He takes away that trial or storm of life. So, when I see this picture of the man borne of four, I remember the miracle to pray for. I remember what to seek. And I remember that a lot of times, Christ in His mercy, timing, and wisdom, gives me both-and I am everlastingly grateful that He does.