Jesus wept...

John 11:35...It's famous for being the shortest verse in the Bible.  It is a peek into the man, Jesus.  It shows us his tender heart and how he felt 100% human emotions as he walked this earth, 100% God.  But many ask, why did he weep?
Jesus had been told that his good friend Lazarus was sick.  Although he could have gone to his bedside and healed him on the spot, Jesus chose to wait two days before heading to Judea.  By that time, Lazarus was dead and buried.  When Jesus arrived in the town, he was met by Lazarus' sisters Mary and Martha.  Jesus was very close with them as well.  The sisters were crying and asking Jesus why he waited.  They both knew if he would have come right away, Lazarus wouldn't have died.  Jesus tried to explain that Lazarus would rise again, but the sisters did not understand what he meant.  Jesus heard all the family wailing and grieving over the loss of Lazarus.  Jesus wept, and was was taken to his tomb.  There he called for Lazarus to come out of the grave, and he did!
But this still begs the question, why did Jesus weep.  He knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, so why the tears?  Some say it was because he was sad that Mary and Martha did not have a strong enough faith to believe he could still bring Lazarus back.  Some say it was because he loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha and he was sad to see them going through this hard time.  Both of these may be true, but I love the thought Greg Laurie shared in his Devotional for March 29, 2010.
Pastor Laurie says Jesus may have wept because he knew this was not the way it was supposed to be.  Jesus knew that man was created to live forever, free of disease, sin, and death.  Pastor Laurie believes Jesus wept because he hated to see his creation, the people he loves so very much, suffering.  Jesus was not only sad, he was angry too.  Angry that this is what had to happened to his precious children.  He wept, not only for Lazarus and his family, but for you and me as well.
Jesus still weeps today.  He weeps for all of his children who are suffering because of this fallen world.  He knows we will be victorious in the end, but he weeps because this wasn't the way it was meant to be.  He weeps for victims of cancer and heart disease, for widows who miss their husbands so much it hurts, for children who practically raise themselves, and yes, for mommies and daddies who have lost children before they were born.
I have spent a lot of time weeping this week.  On the sixth of May I miscarried our precious baby boy at 15 weeks of pregnancy.  I have had many friends that have gone through this experience.  I have always felt sadness for them, but now I truly understand the loss they have experienced.
There are many thoughts that go through a mommy and daddy's head after a baby has died.  Feelings of guilt, self-doubt, fear of the future, and of course grief over the loss of a life that was so full of promise.  I have spent a lot of time crying out to God.  Not because I blame him or must know why.  I know he has a plan, and a reason for all he allows.  But, I have been begging him to heal the hurt and guilt I feel.  I need him to give me peace and rest.  I need relief from the heaviness in my heart.  Thankfully, as the days pass, I have found him to be lovingly comforting me though this journey and I know he weeps with me.
 Of course the story of Lazarus ends happily, well for everyone but Lazarus, who had been in heaven and had to come back to this rotten place.  Imagine his dismay when he awoke to find himself back on earth away from paradise.  But God received the glory, and Lazarus found his story in the most important book every written.  It is a story that brings comfort to all of us who weep over the sickness or death of a loved one.  It lets us know that Jesus weeps with us, and will make all things right when we are taken up to meet him in the rapture or when we meet him as we pass from this life into life eternal.  And in the mean time, it is a comfort to know that our loved ones...babies, elderly or somewhere in between...are seeing him face to face and are awaiting our arrival in heaven.