When the night has passed and the first soft shimmer of dawn appears, songbirds begin their sweet twitter and greeting. This chorus is like some conscious expression of joy that darkness is departed and that light has come.
In the same way mortals should receive with thankful hearts each dawning thought of God's love and power and give it conscious welcome. Mortal sense sometimes says that we linger in deep darkness, in the painful and afflictive beliefs of sin, poverty, sickness, and sorrow, and that we have neither time nor opportunity to wait on divine Love and its manifestation. But we need only to understand that the "now" already belongs to Love, and that it is only our impatience, ignorance, or fear that hides this holy presence from us.
Jesus stood before the tomb of Lazarus. He had come to give marvelous proof of his knowledge of God, to show that life is victor over death. Influenced by material sense testimony, Martha thought only of the tomb and the length of time Lazarus had lain in it. In spite of all previous proofs of God's power her doubting sense and imperfect understanding perceived but dimly the Christ — the light of Truth which would break through the darkness of death. Her disheartened thought found expression in the words, "Lord, . . . he hath been dead four days." This suggestion of mortal mind meant nothing to Jesus. With the admonitory and significant words, which still apply to us today, he answered according to divine conviction, "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" Before his faithful witnessing darkness and the grave lost their seeming power, and Lazarus was restored to life.
