by Michele Jackson

Created on: August 13, 2007

True love does not behave in the usual manner. You would think that Jesus Christ would rush to heal His dear friend Lazarus upon learning of Lazarus' sickness. Instead John 11:6 (Amplified Bible) says, "Therefore [even] when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He still stayed two days longer in the same place where He was." God does not think like we do. While His character does not change (Hebrews 13:8), His methods are not always predictable by human beings. Isaiah 55:8-9 (Amplified Bible) tells us "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."

God allows us to experience pain. Our pain can show the love and the power of God. Our human nature does not like pain, but sometimes we do not witness the love and the power of God without experiencing pain. Lazarus was in the physical and mental pain of sickness. His two sisters and friends were in pain seeing and knowing that Lazarus was suffering. But God who is Love did not respond to this pain by stopping it instantly. True love is not a sentimental feeling. I Corinthians 13:4 tells us that one of the qualities of love is that it endures long. If God healed Lazarus instantly, God would have withheld from people the knowledge that God has the power to raise the dead. Love waits, and love reveals the truth. People had already seen Jesus' ability to heal; it was time to expand people's knowledge of the power of God in a dramatic way. This could not occur by repeatedly doing the same types of miracles of healing. So Jesus Christ made sure Lazarus was definitely dead by waiting four days after Lazarus' death to show up for Lazarus' healing. When Jesus arrived, He shouted out with a loud voice in John 11:43 (Amplified Bible) " Lazarus, come out!" Out walked Lazarus. In stepped proof that Jesus Christ shows love in unusual ways and that He is able to reverse death. Since He can reverse death, then He is able to deliver on His promise of eternal life for those who trust in Him. The implication was also revealed that no problem is too hard for God to fix. What is harder than raising someone from the dead? God is love. Another quality of love is that "Love never fails ," according to 1 Corinthians 13:8 (New International Version Bible).

Do you have an unusual situation in your life that no one else can solve? Take it to the ultimate lover who never fails. The process of

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>