In the Sweet By and By

"The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours." Ayn Rand



This hymn by S. Fillmore Bennett and Joseph P. Webster describes the comfort of a sweet after life, a place where we are reunited with loved ones.

Do you know the story of Lazarus? He and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, were close friends of Jesus. He had often been a guest in their home. When he received word that Lazarus was very ill, Jesus did not rush to him immediately. He waited two days and in that time, Lazarus passed away.

Martha heard that Jesus was finally on his way to their home, and while her sister stayed inside, Martha ran down the road to meet him. The first words out of her mouth were, "If you were here, my brother would not have died." Was she angry, hurt, disappointed? I don't know, but I can guess. Then she added, "But even now, I know that God will give you whatever you want."

Jesus told her that her brother would rise again, and Martha, who was a woman of faith, replied that she knew he would, on the last day. In the sweet by and by, if you will. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life." Then he walked right into the house and raised Lazarus from the dead. Literally, really and truly. Right then and there.

Could it be the life we want is already ours? Could it be that we are so focused on hoping for it to happen sometime in the future that we fail to see we already possess it?

Susan