Day 232: Advice from Friends

John 11:1-27; 2 Chronicles 10-11; Psalm 75

In the story of Lazarus, Jesus' wisdom and power are evident. He says at the beginning that Lazarus' sickness won't end in death...but he is dead when Jesus shows up. What exactly does this mean? It could mean that Jesus' perspective is further than what is happening at the moment. The same can be said for Martha's response: "I know that he will be raised to life on the last day, when all the dead are raised." She has the same sort of eternal perspective that Jesus is essentially alluding to. Even death doesn't end our journey, our story, our life. Just as in losing a job, a loved one, a friend, isn't the end of our journey. Lazarus died, indeed. But there is so much more to his story that was going to be revealed by The Lord. Everyone who has faith in Jesus "will live, even if they die." Our hope, our perspective, our life, should be focus beyond our physical death because there is so much more to our story than just what we do on this earth.

In 2 Chronicles we see a story in which the message is very clear. Rehoboam asks some older, senior advisors for advice, then asks some younger officials who are his age for advice. The older ones suggest kindness, service, gentleness, but the younger suggest a demonstration of power and force. Rehoboam shows his true colors--that he is power hungry and prideful--and takes the advice of the younger generation. The result is terrible. Sometimes we like to seek advice from people, and a lot of times we ask our friends or those we have a lot in common with that are similar in age and stage in life. This story clearly shows the potential danger. Rehoboam might have had some wise friends his age, but they are not recorded in this story. Instead, it is the older generation who demonstrates wisdom and grace and should have been listened to. Perhaps we should seek council from our elders, whether that means they are elders by 10 years or 50. Often, their judgement will be better, their wisdom solid, and their experiences expansive. Friends are great, but if we need advice, perhaps the best place to seek it is from those who have experienced a lot more of life than we have. Then once we hear it, even if it isn't desirable, we need to strongly consider following it. Good stuff in the Old Testament!

After Rehoboam makes a stupid mistake early in his rule, he lives much better for the next chapter. He wants to attack the people that rebelled against him, but God tells him not to and he listens. When the people of the other tribes cannot worship The Lord purely because of Jeroboam and they come to Jerusalem, They worship and are loyal under Rehoboam who obviously kept the temples pure and was someone they were willing to serve for several years. Rehoboam has a lot of wives and ultimately a lot of sons. He picks one to rule as king, but scripture says he "was wise enough to put one of his sons in charge of each fortified city in his kingdom" and he gave them all they needed. Rehoboam grew up! Good for him!

Psalm 75 is about how God has power over the wicked. It talks about how he will judge with fairness, he will take their power, he will pour out his anger on them and defeat them. On the flip side, this Psalm also includes praises to God. The psalmist says "our God, we thank you for being so near to us! Everyone celebrates your wonderful deeds." God is indeed near to us and if we praise The Lord and tell of his wonderful deeds, he will "give strength to those who are good." We don't need to be afraid or troubled by what the evil or wicked people are doing. Do we need to try and hinder their hurtful actions, protect the weak? Definitely. But, God holds the ultimate power and he will make sure that those that love him will be saved and those that do not will be judged accordingly. God is good and wise and right.