Lord, The One You Love Is Very Sick

Lord, The One You Love Is Very Sick

A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, the one you love is very sick.” But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God.” Although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days and did not go to them. –John 11:1, 3-6

“Lord, the one you love is very sick.” Mary and Martha were not simply reporting on Lazarus’s condition for Jesus’ information. Implied in their message is a request for him to come, a plea for him to exercise his power to remedy the situation, to restore Lazarus to health. They seem to be saying to Jesus what we have said many times: “Jesus, if you really love me, then you will prove it by showing up, relieving my pain, and preventing my loss.”

I find it interesting that John makes sure that we know that Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus. Perhaps that’s because he understood how hard it can be to believe that these two things can both be true: that God loves us and that he allows us to suffer and even die. We look squarely into our suffering and say to ourselves, If God really loved me, he wouldn’t allow this. Therefore, if he does allow it, he doesn’t love me. Our suffering becomes the soil in which our doubts about God’s love begin to grow.

But God’s love is sure and certain. He is the very definition of love. We tend to interpret God’s love by looking at our circumstances. Things-are-good means God loves me. Things-are-bad means God doesn’t care. Instead, we must allow the strong and secure love of God to become the lens through which we interpret everything that happens in our lives. When we see our suffering through the lens of God’s love, we see that our suffering has meaning and purpose. And while we may never label the suffering as good, we have the consoling confidence that God is going to use it for our good and for his glory. The love of God supports us and sustains us.

Because Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus, he wanted to deepen their faith. Because Jesus loved them, he turned the most bitter experience of their lives into a blazing testimony to his love and power. And he will do the same for you—because he loves you.

Lord, I want to see everything in my life through the lens of your love in quiet confidence that you are working everything for my good and your glory.

DIGGING DEEPER