There can be no resurrection without pain, death, and grief. Pain is part of healing, part of resurrection. It was not a show they were genuine tears of grief. Yes, the son of God, who planned to raise Lazarus from death, who knew he could conquer death, wept with his friends in the pain of grief. Henry Ossawa Tanner, Resurrection of Lazarus, 1896 The sisters led Jesus to the tomb where Lazarus was already buried. In the story, Martha’s faith was rewarded, but not before experiencing grieving and tears together with her Lord and Savior. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” The one who believes in me will live, even though they die and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. This is the point where Jesus spoke the powerful words of Good News: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. The scene on his arrival was chaos and grief. After some back and forth with his followers about what Jesus meant with his words, and whether returning to Judea was a safe idea, Jesus cut to the point with his followers: “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. To understand this, we need to follow the story to the end. That is a powerful thought: that the purpose of a calamity of sickness or death may ultimately be to glorify God. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” When Jesus heard that Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha, who were all dearly beloved friends of Jesus, was sick and at the point of death, he said to his disciples: “This sickness will not end in death. If we look more closely at the story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus as told in the Gospel of John, chapter 11, we can discover some insight to these questions. Many more will die inwardly from fear, grief, and economic ruin. The COVID-19 pandemic reaches into every facet of our lives and consciousness. We are living in a time of death, a time of suffering, a time of fear. Jesus lives! Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”ĭo we believe this? The question is especially poignant today. Jesus not only cheated death and returned to life. They spend summers in Michigan and winters in Florida.Easter is more than death and resurrection. But when readers or conference attendees respond positively to something I've said or written, it is humbling and rewarding all at the same time!" Crystal and her husband, Bob, have enjoyed 44 years of marriage and are the parents of 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren. "Writing and speaking can be intimidating because in order to connect with your audience you need to be personal and transparent, exposing what's in your heart and soul. As a speaker, Crystal enjoys sharing her stories and poetry with students in the classroom and also with adults at teachers' conventions, writers' conferences, and women's seminars.
She has written books for many popular children's series, such as Little Blessings, BOZ the Bear, MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), Berenstain Bears, and I Can Read! She has also written two books of humorous poetry for children, numerous magazine articles, Bible study materials, and educational resource books. She began writing children's books in 1993 and has since written more than 100 books for children and 3 for women.
Her writing career began in 1990 as a lyricist for children's piano music. She graduated from Calvin College with a degree in elementary education and studied early childhood development at the University of Michigan. Crystal Bowman is an author, speaker, and former preschool teacher.
0 kommentar(er)
