John 11:21 English Standard Version (ESV) Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Human nature wants what it wants without regard to much of anything else. We all have people we love and some of those people are in desperate danger of loss. So we pray and ask the Lord to do our will.

John 14:14 English Standard Version (ESV) If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Note closely that it was Martha and not Mary that hurled this accusation at Jesus. Martha was the one who worried about much. Mary was the sister that hung on Jesus’ every word.

Our human nature desires to have things our way. We remember passages readily that tend to support that nature. Jesus is Lord and we are to do what He asks and not the other way around.

Human nature looks to blame anyone but ourselves when our prayers are not answered in the way and the timing we seek. Fake faith healers always blamed the faith of the seeker for a healing that did not happen. Our will cannot replace God’s will.

The death of Lazarus lead to one of our foundational beliefs. It was God’s will that his death would be so public and his resurrection so emotional in order that everyone would hear these words.

John 11:25-26 English Standard Version (ESV) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

This is the lesson about faith and human nature. Faith does not change our nature but rather overcomes its failings.

2 Corinthians 5:7 English Standard Version (ESV) for we walk by faith, not by sight.

John 14:6 English Standard Version (ESV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

We are still speaking to human nature. This seems to be one of the easiest passages to understand and is used so often that there is a tendency not to explain the spiritual aspects. We take it for granted that people will understand this clearly and do not talk about it.

It is human nature to assume everyone understands things we deem simple. This is the problem with allowing things to be left out of our conversations. It does not allow others to share their opinions that might be different.

Here is a bit of silliness to highlight that point.

What if someone sees Jesus as an obstacle to getting to know the Father and treats his training as a matter of a game of Red Rover. “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Roger right over.” The idea being that we can only make a breakthrough by aiming at the weakest points in the line. In that case one might look for weaknesses in others to succeed.

While it is silly to think that way, it has been mentioned, so now we should consider that someone might not have a perfect understanding of simple spiritual concepts.

There have been others that admit in bible studies that they “don’t get it”. When we talk to these that seek and do not find, do we take care to protect our relationship in fellowship? We cannot help anyone if we are dismissive.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the one that reveals all truth. We should not treat others as if we are responsible for their understanding. This lesson was taught to me by a fellow that came to me a year later and said, “Now I get it.” The Holy Spirit knows best how to reveal truth at the right time.