Faith That Works Today
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’”
John 11:25-27
Martha’s response is remarkable.
She is grieving. Her brother has been dead four days. Yet she runs to Jesus. She does not accuse Him. She does not collapse in bitterness. She says, “Even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Her faith is real. Her theology is solid. She believes in the resurrection on the last day. She believes Jesus is the Christ. But there is one small tension in her confession. Her theology is accurate, but it is deferred.
She believes in resurrection as a future event. She does not yet recognize that resurrection is standing in front of her as a Person. How often do we do the same? We believe God will restore one day. We believe He will heal in eternity. We believe He will make all things right eventually. Our doctrine anchors our future. But does it interpret our present?
Jesus does not offer Martha a timeline. He offers Himself.
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
Not I will be. Not I will bring it. I am.
The Christian life is not merely holding correct beliefs about a distant hope. It is trusting a living Savior in the middle of today’s grief. Orthodoxy must become operational. Truth must move from our statement of faith into our lived experience.
It is often safer to believe God will move someday than to ask Him to move right now. Future hope feels less risky. Present trust feels vulnerable. Yet Jesus presses the question. “Do you believe this?” Not do you believe in a doctrine. Not do you affirm a creed. Do you believe Me?
You can be full of faith and still full of sorrow. Martha proves that. Grief does not undermine belief. Tears do not disqualify trust. But Jesus invites us deeper than mental agreement. He invites us into active reliance.
Where have you confined resurrection to the future? Where have you limited God to the last day but not this day?
The One who stood outside Lazarus’s tomb is the same One who stands with you. He is not merely preparing a future victory. He is present power.
Resurrection is not just coming. Resurrection has a name.
And He is with you now.
John 11:25-27
Martha’s response is remarkable.
She is grieving. Her brother has been dead four days. Yet she runs to Jesus. She does not accuse Him. She does not collapse in bitterness. She says, “Even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Her faith is real. Her theology is solid. She believes in the resurrection on the last day. She believes Jesus is the Christ. But there is one small tension in her confession. Her theology is accurate, but it is deferred.
She believes in resurrection as a future event. She does not yet recognize that resurrection is standing in front of her as a Person. How often do we do the same? We believe God will restore one day. We believe He will heal in eternity. We believe He will make all things right eventually. Our doctrine anchors our future. But does it interpret our present?
Jesus does not offer Martha a timeline. He offers Himself.
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
Not I will be. Not I will bring it. I am.
The Christian life is not merely holding correct beliefs about a distant hope. It is trusting a living Savior in the middle of today’s grief. Orthodoxy must become operational. Truth must move from our statement of faith into our lived experience.
It is often safer to believe God will move someday than to ask Him to move right now. Future hope feels less risky. Present trust feels vulnerable. Yet Jesus presses the question. “Do you believe this?” Not do you believe in a doctrine. Not do you affirm a creed. Do you believe Me?
You can be full of faith and still full of sorrow. Martha proves that. Grief does not undermine belief. Tears do not disqualify trust. But Jesus invites us deeper than mental agreement. He invites us into active reliance.
Where have you confined resurrection to the future? Where have you limited God to the last day but not this day?
The One who stood outside Lazarus’s tomb is the same One who stands with you. He is not merely preparing a future victory. He is present power.
Resurrection is not just coming. Resurrection has a name.
And He is with you now.
Posted in The Word Made Flesh
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