Joel M Bradshaw

1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.–John 11 (with emphasis)

I remember getting a phone call years ago on a Sunday that my Dad’s health was in critical condition. Complications from a surgery had gone wrong and he would be dead very soon. Another phone call soon after was from the bedside as immediate family had surrounded an unconscious Dad and everyone was offering final words. I remember being put on speakerphone and tearfully saying my final thoughts to my father. The problem was that I live 3.5 hours away from my downstate family. Even if I broke land speed records, I wouldn’t have gotten there on time. But I wanted to be there. Dad’s decline was swift and surprising, but I would have given anything to be physically present.

So when I read the first half of John 11, there’s a part of me that gets upset at Jesus. The sisters Mary and especially Martha will also emotionally be frustrated and upset with Jesus as the story would continue.

Jesus loved Lazarus, and then Jesus intentionally delayed going down there? To my selfish understanding, love would have meant that Jesus raced to get to Lazarus’ bedside. Especially since Jesus had the power to heal the sick and was doing so hundreds of times everywhere he went.

The part that I underlined in the text seems like a logical non sequitur to me. It just doesn’t seem to follow. So how do we wrap our minds around this tension?

We take one big step back from our emotional response and then read verse 4 again. Jesus wasn’t a jerk and He didn’t (doesn’t) make mistakes. Lazarus’ sickness was going to end with life and not death. The situation was going to unfold in a way that God would be glorified.

When we read the famous Psalm 46:10, we are reminded to be still and know that He is God. It’s a wonderful verse to repeat to ourselves as we go through stressful times. But don’t forget the rest of the verse!

“I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in all the earth.”

When we are still and trust God to work we need to remember that our situations have an ultimate purpose and goal in God’s glory. God will be glorified in your mess. He will be worshiped and praised as he handles His business. We may go through trials now, but as our refuge and strength, God’s caring love ultimately ends in His glory. He has written our faith stories in such a fashion that is ultimately the absolute best for us and gives Him the most glory.

God’s love is never a non sequitur to our experiences. He is both God and good. He handles his business. But are we allowing our temporal perspectives to cloud the eternal truth? Your trust in God is shown when you are most frustrated with His answers and especially His timing.–JMB