Morning Meditations

God sure works in wonderful ways! This morning I read John 11 and 12. As I read John 12:1-11, I was remembering a Sunday school lesson I heard in September 2006. The lesson had significant meaning to me; I know God was using it, at the time, to prepare my heart for a change that was about to take place in my life. I remember Mrs. Brown explained the amazing sacrifice that Mary made when she poured out her box of ointment at Jesus’ feet. On a Jewish girl’s wedding day, she broke her alabaster box of ointment and anointed herself for her husband. The box of ointment symbolized a girl’s entire future. By breaking it, Mary was showing her willingness to sacrifice all her hopes and dreams for Jesus. Mary gave the best that she had to the Saviour! As David would say, “Selah.” Think about it.

Alongside this passage I found some notes I scribbled down in my Bible when a visiting preacher preached on John 12:1-11. He pointed out the various tasks of each individual and their great importance to the cause of Christ. Martha was a worker; Mary was a worshipper; Lazarus was a witness. Curious to discover more about these verses, I picked up my Morning and Evening devotional book and checked to see if Spurgeon had a devotional passage on anything in John 12. To my amazement, there was an entry for John 12:2...on November 21st!!! Today! I did a double take. It was the evening passage (I had already read the morning passage). It’s so neat when God synchronizes my devotions like that!!! So, anyway, I thought I’d share the devotional excerpt with you.

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"Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with Him." ~ John 12:2

He is to be envied. It was well to be Martha and serve, but better to be Lazarus and commune. There are times for each purpose, and each is comely in its season, but none of the trees of the garden yield such clusters as the vine of fellowship. To sit with Jesus, to hear His words, to mark His acts, and receive His smiles, was such a favour as must have made Lazarus as happy as the angels. When it has been our happy lot to feast with our Beloved in His banqueting-hall, we would not have given half a sigh for all the kingdoms of the world, if so much breath could have bought them.
He is to be imitated. It would have been a strange thing if Lazarus had not been at the table where Jesus was, for he had been dead, and Jesus had raised him. For the risen one to be absent when the Lord who gave him life was at his house, would have been ungrateful indeed. We too were once dead, yea, and like Lazarus stinking in the grave of sin; Jesus raised us, and by His life we live-can we be content to live at a distance from Him? Do we omit to remember Him at His table, where He deigns to feast with His brethren? Oh, this is cruel! It behooves us to repent, and do as He has bidden us, for His least wish should be law to us. To have lived without constant intercourse with one of whom the Jews said, "Behold how He loved him," would have been disgraceful to Lazarus, is it excusable in us whom Jesus has loved with an everlasting love? To have been cold to Him who wept over his lifeless corpse, would have argued great brutishness in Lazarus. What does it argue in us over whom the Saviour has not only wept, but bled? Come, brethren, who read this portion, let us return unto our heavenly Bridegroom, and ask for His Spirit that we may be on terms of closer intimacy with Him, and henceforth sit at the table with Him.