The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1961-02-17
Lord Of Life
Lesson for FEBRUARY 10, 1861

Many more people died in
Palestine than Jesus brought
back to life. He did not spend all
of his life, or anywhere near the
most of it, in breaking up
funerals. We hear actually of
only three particular cases where
he brought dead person to life;
John tells of only one. the story
of Lazarus. Jesus took death as
a natural end of life. 1t is the
one event to which every one can
confidently look forward. Jesus
did not set out make holiday
for death. He did not share the
modern prejudice against even
using such ugly" words as
die" or dead"
No Tears for Lazarus
Why then did the Master weep
when Lazarus died? Some think
he Wept for himself; but this
would be most unlike him. Self
pity would be the last sin you
could think of in connection with
Jesus. Others think he wept for
Lazarus. This could scarcely be
true; for he knew he was going
to restore the man to his family.
Some would agree to this-Jesus
did not mourn for a man death
could not hold. But could he have
been weeping for the opposite
reason that Lazarus had to
come back to this world of pain
and sin? It is more likely that
Jesus tears were not for Lazarus
at all, but for the grieving sis
tiers. Mary and Martha. If he
Wept for Lazarus, it would be the
one and only funeral that brought
him to tears. 1t is more natural
to think Of Jesus as sharing the
sorrow of the two sisters, as he
shared the woes of the world al
ways. He was indeed acquainted
with grief"
Mans Worst ENEMY
Many people. perhaps most,
think of death as the worst enc
my of man. Death is called once
by st. Paul the last enemy"
but neither Paul nor any other
writer in the Bible Except Ec-
clesiastes) looks at death as
mans worst enemy. That place
! is reserved for sin. The damage
that sin can do is worse than
any damage death can do. This
is not to say that prevention of
death, or rather postponement of
death. which is all that medical
science can accomplish. is not
worthwhile. If Thou shalt not
kill is divine command,
there is another commandment
wrapped up, as it were, in that
one. Thou shalt do all things pos
sible to preserve and prolong
life = thine own and the lives of
others. Nevertheless. though the
healing professions owe much to
Christianity and have contributed
much, the fact remains that no
death can be anything but post
pOned. while sin can actually be
prevented. So our Lord spent
most of his time not in breaking
up funerals but in breaking the
power of evil. 1t is less impor-
tant. after all, to keep men from
dying than it is to keep men
Iron shining.
Two Kinds OF Life
Let us turn this thought around
and look at it another way. 1t is
important enough to be looked at
for a long time. Here is a queS-
ton: What is the most important
thing in the world. to you?
Many persons would come UP
with what seems like the simple
answer: My life. That is a true
answer = perhaps. It depends on
what kind of life you mean: for
there are two kinds. One is the
life that ends at the moment OF
death, the life that is tied to your
heart and lungs. The other is the
life called in the Apostles Greed
the Life Everlasting. but better
called in the New Testament the
Life Eternal. There at Bethany
Jesus did not prescribe for Laza-
rus a pill or potion guaranteed
to keep him from dying again
Lazarus would die again. and
Jesus knew it. So did his sisters
Jesus did not offer them life
everlasting. they had it.. God has
made US human beings SO that
death is not the end. But the
pressing, even the terrible, ques,
ton is: What sort of person are
you going to be. forever and
ever? Without the life eternal
the life everlasting can be al
, eternity of Illustration at best
torture at worst. Without the life
eternal, life everlasting means
only existence shut away from
the Lord of Life. Eternal life is
that kind Of left that makes ever.
lasting life worth the hope OF
man and the promises of Christ
BIASED on outlines copyrighted
by the Division Of Christian Edu-
cation. National Council Of tho
Churches Of Christ in the L, S. A.
Released by Community Press
Service.)