Faith In God: Why Did Jesus Allow Lazarus To Die If He Loved Him?
Many of us think that when God loves us, He won't allow us to go through suffering, that He won't allow us to experience pain and loss. While it's true that God heals our wounds, the Bible also says that He wounds us then binds us up.
"For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole." (Job 5:18)
This couldn't be truer than what we see in the life of a person whom Jesus loved, a man named Lazarus. If Christ loved him, then why would He allow him to die? Let's look at his story.
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A man whom Jesus loved
In John 11 we read the powerful story of how Lazarus was brought back from the dead and called out from the tomb. Of course, before he was raised we all know that he died and left many people hurt and saddened at the loss of him. So why did Jesus let him die anyway?
In John 11:3 we read that Mary and Martha, Lazarus' sisters, "sent word to [Jesus], saying, "Lord, he whom You love is sick." (emphasis mine)
Now we all think that if God loves us, He won't allow anything wrong to happen to us, right? Lazarus, a man whom Christ loved, is sick. Our erroneous thinking can't reconcile the two things we find there: God's love and sickness. God allowed him to be sick. Think about that.
Many of us tend to expect a quick response from God when something unfavorable happens. When we are sick, we ask God for instant healing. When we go through troubles, we ask God for instant rescue. When we are in bondage to sin, we ask God for instant deliverance.
Perhaps, that was what Mary and Martha were thinking: that Jesus would come and heal their brother quickly. They're human just like us, and so they could be thinking that way, just like we would. Jesus, however, had something else in mind, something far greater than our healing and comfort:
"When Jesus heard this, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it."" (John 11:4)
God's glory through our suffering
Jesus' response to what Mary and Martha told Him might not be the most pleasant thing to hear when we are in the midst of trouble and discomfort, but it is indeed the greatest reason for us to go through trials. Think about it.
- When we go through suffering that will ultimately result in God being glorified and the Son of God being made known, that suffering will be so worth it (see Acts 5:41).
- When we go through loss for the sake of Christ's gain, that loss will be a gain to us as well (see Philippians 3:7-8).
- When we go through something unfavorable for the sake of Christ's Gospel, it will become favorable for us in the end (see Matthew 10:32).
Our joy in our suffering
Friends, God values the death of His saints (see Psalm 116:15). He does not take pleasure in seeing us being pummeled by sin and suffering. When we suffer for Him, when we go through necessary pains in order for Him to be glorified, He understands what we go through and sympathizes with us (see John 11:35).
Yet, at the end of it all, when He is glorified we will rejoice with Him for He honors us (see Matthew 10:32).
