John 11: 1- 46
When I first met Jesus I could tell that He was no ordinary man. He was full of love and compassion. The Spirit of God was upon Him. He spoke with all wisdom and authority, not like the scribes and Pharisees. When He prayed, it was as if He was of one heart, mind, and spirit with His father in heaven. He could ask God for anything, and God would give it to Him. There were many different opinions of who Jesus was, but I knew that He was the long awaited Messiah. I loved to spend time with Jesus. Whenever He was near, I would open my house to Him. I gave Him a place to rest and food to eat. He was a true friend, and I knew that He would always be there for me whenever I needed Him. Then one day a dreadful sickness came upon me. I felt as though my life was slowly draining out of my body. I was scared and felt the ominous presence of death slowly approaching. I knew that Jesus was my only hope. I've seen Him heal many people, and I knew that He would stop whatever He was doing and rush to my side to bring comfort and healing. I knew that my sisters had sent word to Jesus days ago, and that He would soon be arriving. Oh, how I longed to see His face! Each moment I waited seemed like an eternity. I wondered what was taking Him so long. Just then, I felt a strange numbness and heaviness creep over my entire body as if the weight of the world was increasingly laid upon me. And then … total darkness.
It seemed like in the very next moment, I heard a familiar voice calling out my name. It was Jesus! He was calling me to come to Him. I strained to see but there was only darkness. I struggled to move toward His voice, but it felt like my entire body was wrapped tightly and bound with cords. With everything that was in me, I battled my way toward His voice. Suddenly, I could hear other familiar voices and felt many people around me. I could hear my sisters crying and many other excited voices. I felt my body being freed from the bondages that kept me from moving freely. The darkness slowly gave way to increasing light as my eyes began to focus clearly on the figure before me. It was Jesus! He was smiling with tears running down His face! My heart rejoiced.
I don't fully understand all the reasons why this has happened to me. I just know that I was once dead but now am alive, and because of that, some of my own family and friends have come to trust Jesus as I have. I always believed that Jesus would raise me up on the last day, but now I know that I can trust him for giving me new life today.
"This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
(John 11: 4)
~ Jim Krauser
