He is RISEN! Resurrection was first revealed to the women who loved Jesus. They were still loving him as they went to the tomb and discovered he wasn’t there.
He is alive!
This changes everything!
In these verses Jesus is speaking to Mary and Martha before he raised Lazarus from the dead.
Again, the word believe here is stronger in Greek than in English. It doesn’t mean to just acknowledge but to believe in such a way that it affects your actions.
Jesus promises that if we “believe” we will never die. I have learned that my relationship with God helps me not to fear death. I know my life here matters, but I do not fear what’s to come, I look forward to the day I don’t live here anymore. No more pain, sin, evil, hurt.
I belong to another Kingdom and that matters more than anything else. As a teen I stopped expecting our world to look like Heaven. Heaven will come in due time. I do not expect this earth to be Heaven. It will be destroyed in due time. All will be made right and true, Holy Justice will be done. I do not have to seek justice here. If I expect justice here I will only be disappointed.
This reminds me of Luke 3:5 quoting the words of the prophet Isaiah. Handel’s Messiah was taken from this verse: “Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth.”
God will make all things right. Our job is to respond to resurrection today and every day to live our lives as a good citizen Of Heaven as we carry on walking over these hills, mountains, crooked places and valleys. Press on my friend, all will be resolved. Believe. Become a citizen of the Kingdom that matters most.
Jeni Martin Johnson 
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