If thou hadst been here

I marvel at the faith of Martha and Mary. I had always thought their statements that “if thou hadst been here my brother has not died” were despairing. In reading the entire interchange they each had with Jesus I realized that they were expressing faith in Him. It was not despair that their brother was dead—although they felt sorrow—but rather hope in Christ that despite losing their brother they still believed that because of Him all could be eternally righted. (Although I don’t think either of them was thinking He would raise Lazarus from the dead.)