Lean On Me!
Rev. J. Loren Russell
John 14:1-6 (NKJV)
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Ultimately, we are all trying to get one of those mansions Jesus talked about. The challenge is that the mansions are only available to those who transition from time to eternity. Death is such a complicated thing; tears and sadness, mourning and grief. Jesus is saying in this pericope that there is everlasting joy in His Father’s house. It’s just getting there that presents the problem.
In the third chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon wrote, “To everything there is a season – – a time and purpose for everything. A time to be born and a time to die (v. 2). Verse 4 goes on to say, “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.”
Ecclesiastes is one of the books of wisdom, so it seems to me that Solomon is saying we can weep and laugh, mourn and dance at the same time. I had to do some in depth study to see if I could better understand the wisdom of Solomon’s words and connect them to the words Jesus spoke. I looked at King David, who lost his infant son to death, chased, and hounded by King Saul, then had his kingdom under attack from another son (Absalom). Yet, he wrote some of the most beautiful, insightful, and spiritual poems that can be found anywhere.
• The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. – Ps. 23:1
• Create within me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. – Ps. 51:10
• God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in times of trouble. Ps. 46:1
While David was mourning the death of his infant son, and when his son was trying to take over his kingdom and was eventually killed in battle, in his heart there was still laughter and dancing. Now, Solomon, the younger brother of David’s infant son, and the brother to Absalom, writes from a profound place of understanding,
“To everything there is a season – – a time and purpose for everything…, A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.”
Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived (1 King 4:29-31) also shared his wisdom on leaning and wrote, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
When I looked back at the words that Jesus spoke; “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also,” I understood how we can weep and laugh, mourn and dance. When the death angel invades our earthly homes, we have a mansion in the Father’s house. The reason we can weep and laugh, mourn and dance is because Jesus is saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” You can Lean On ME!
Be Blessed!
Rev. J. Loren Russell is an associate minister at Goodwill Baptist Church and is the spiritual leader of the Evangelical Church of God, both in the Bronx, President/CEO of The JLR Company/J Loren R Consulting, LLC for Church Financial & Strategic Consulting (718-328-8096) and is the producer and host of “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Monday nights from 8:00 – 10:00 PM on Facebook Live. Be sure to ‘Friend’ the Matters of Faith YouTube Channel. Email us at mattersoffaith.mof@gmail.com. Order your copy of Matters of Faith: The eBook at www.smashwords.com/books/view/993177.
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