This article was imported from our previous website, which many have broken some of the content. We apologize in advance for any strange formatting or broken links you may find.
I was reading John 11 a few weeks ago. You know, the story about Lazarus rising from the dead. Most of the time I concentrate on the teaching about Jesus being the resurrection and the life (which is fantastic, by the way). But in doing so, I realized I missed something earlier on in the account that blew me away.
The passage starts out introducing the players – Mary, Martha, Lazarus of course – and John seems to want us to know how close these people are with Jesus. They loved Him. And He loved them. It looks like Lazarus was like a brother to Jesus. And it was Mary who anointed Jesus with that expensive perfume and wiped His feet with her hair. I think it's safe to say they were close.
After establishing the relationship, we find Mary and Martha sending a message to Jesus about their brother being really sick. Jesus says that after this was all said and done, He and the Father would be glorified.
Then it happens.
It says Jesus loved the family, "so when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was" (John 11:5-6, NASB). What?! If I were going to guess what the rest of that sentence was going to say, I would have thought it would be something more like, "so when He heard that he was sick, He dropped everything and ran to Lazarus to heal him!" or "so He went to console the family." Not “He stayed away."
How can that be love? Everything in my mind was saying that love is when we find out someone is hurting, and when we can help, we do something. We don't stay away. But that's what Jesus did.
Now I know we know the rest of the story here. We turn the page and know something even greater would happen for God's glory and to build the faith of others because Jesus stayed away. But they didn't know that. What Jesus did, at the time, would have screamed to them that He didn't care at all.
Isn't that how we feel? In those times when we ask Jesus to come and help us when we are in trouble, or when we are facing something painful, and Jesus stays away. We don't hear from Him. We don't see Him working. We don't get an answer at all. And so we start to doubt whether He really loves us that much. If He did, then He would act!
But what if what was happening in this account in John 11 still happens today at times? What if Jesus loves us so much that He stays away? He doesn't act. He doesn't do anything. What if Jesus loves us so much that He lets the painful thing go to its inevitable end? Does that sound crazy or what?
These people didn't see what we see in the story. They didn't see it was actually better that Jesus stayed away, not only for them, but for others as well. We know that, in the end, the Father and Son were glorified even more, and others believed in Jesus, because He didn't do anything in the time of crisis.
But we don't see the whole story either, do we? We don't see how God could get even more glory if He allows us to go through the thing we are asking Him to fix. We don't see how God could use what we are going through to grow us or build the faith of someone else. But God sees it.
So the next time you ask God to intervene and He doesn't, maybe it's because it's better that He doesn't. He is more interested in our conformity to Christ than our comfort. He is more interested in our sanctification than our safety.
Maybe Jesus does love you, so He will not do anything for two more days or two more years or two more decades. What if He loves you that much?