Pensamento:
Se você já ficou ao lado da cova de um ente querido, provavelmente o seguinte pensamento passou pela sua mente – se estivesse aqui, Senhor! Onde está Jesus na hora da dor? Por que ele não pode estar presente para nos ajudar? Há duas respostas cruciais para lembrarmos. Primeiro, Jesus está conosco nos momentos de perda e luto. A Igreja é o Corpo de Jesus e cada ato de bondade, apoio, conforto e ajuda representa Jesus para aliviar nossa dor. Segundo, ao passo que talvez ele tenha permitido nosso ente querido passar desta vida para a próxima, ele tem sido a presença duradoura e constante para cada cristão que morreu fisicamente. Paulo nos lembra que quando um cristão morre, ele ou ela parte para estar com Cristo (2 Coríntios 5:6-7; Filipenses 1:21-23) e a presença amorosa de Deus nunca é perdida com aquela pessoa (Romanos 8:35-39).
Thoughts on Today's Verse...
If you have ever stood at the grave side of a loved one, this thought probably crossed your mind, too — "if you had only been here, Lord..."! Where is Jesus when we hurt? Why couldn't he be here to help us? There are a couple of crucial answers to remember.
- Jesus is with us in our moments of loss and grief. The Church is Jesus' Body and every act of kindness, word support, effort to comfort us, and simple helping actions are part of Jesus working to alleviate our grief.
- While Jesus may not have kept our loved one from passing from this life to the next, he has been the abiding and unbroken presence for each Christian who has died physically. Paul reminds us that when a Christian dies, he or she goes to be with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:6-7; Philippians 1:21-23) and God's loving presence is never lost to him or her (Romans 8:35-39).
Martha seems to have something deep inside her that resonated with these promises because she was convinced that even though her brother, Lazarus, had died, she trusted that Jesus could still do something. She says, "But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask" (John 11:20). In the face of overwhelming grief and deep sorrow, we as believers can yearn to have had Jesus present to prevent the death of a loved one. Yet in the face of this unwanted intrusion of death, we can say with faith, "Even now God will" provide victory out of our heartbreak!
Oração:
Santo Pai, por favor, ajude-me a ver a presença de Jesus ministrando nas minhas horas de perda e luto. Ajude-me a vê-lo na presença confortante do Espírito Santo que habita em mim. Ajude-me a vê-lo nos atos de amor e bondade do seu povo para me ajudar. Além disso, querido Pai, por favor, ajude-me a ver as maneiras em que eu posso servir como a presença de Jesus para alguém que está sofrendo. No nome de Jesus eu oro. Amém. || Veja a imagem: http://www.iluminalma.com/img/il_joao11_21.html
My Prayer...
Holy Father, please help me see Jesus' ministering presence with me in my times of loss and grief. Help me see him in the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit who abides in me. Help me see him in the acts of love and kindness your bodily presence, the church, as your people help me. In addition, dear Father, please help me see ways that I can serve as Jesus' presence to someone else who is experiencing grief. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
