ssed truth of
immortal life. "Whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die."
There is no death for those who are in Christ. The body dies, but the
person lives on. The resurrection may be in the future, but really
there is no break in the life of a believer in Christ. He is not here;
our eyes see him not, our ears hear not his voice, we cannot touch him
with our hands, but he still lives and thinks and feels and loves. No
power in his being has been quenched by dying, no beauty dimmed, no
faculty destroyed.

This is a part of the comfort which Jesus gave to his friends in their
bereavement. He assured them that there is no death, that all who
believe in him have eternal life. There remains for those who stay
here the pain of separation and of loneliness, but for those who have
passed over we need have no fear.

How does Jesus comfort his friends who are left? As we read over the
story of the sorrow of the Bethany home we find the answer to our
question. You say, "He brought back their dead, thus comforting them
with the literal undoing of the work of death and grief. If only he
would do this now, in every case where love cries to him, that would be
comfort indeed." But we must remember that the return of Lazarus to
his home was only a temporary restoration. He came back to the old
life of mortality, of temptation, of sickness and pain and death. He
came back only for a season. It was not a resurrection to immortal
life; it was only a restoration to mortal life. He must pass again
through the mystery of dying, and his sisters must a second time
experience the agony of separation and loneliness. We can scarcely
call it comfort; it was merely a postponement for a little while of the
final separation.

But Jesus gave the sisters true consoling besides this. His mere
presence brought them comfort. They knew that he loved them. Many
times before when he had entered their home he had brought a
benediction. They had a feeling of security and peace in his presence.
Even their inconsolable grief lost something of its poignancy when the
light of his face fell upon them. Every strong, tender, and true human
love has a wondrous comforting power. We can pass through a sore trial
if a trusted friend is beside us. The believer can endure any sorrow
if Jesus is with him.

Another element of comfort for these sorrowing sisters was in the
sympathy of Jesus. He showed this sympathy with them in coming a