I wrote a blogpost not too long ago which included the story of Lazarus’s resurrection. Reading that chapter again, something else jumped out at me, and I would love to share that in this post.

John 11:1-6 (ESV) tells us, “Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But 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.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.”

When Martha and Mary sent a message to Jesus, they said, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” Isn’t that so beautiful, that they didn’t even use Lazarus’ name, they simply referred to him as “he whom you love”. They must have been truly convinced and conscious of Jesus’ love. And then, to buttress this point, in narrating this story, John also makes sure to include this line, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus”.

Why does John take the time to include that line, before going on to explain that Jesus was not going to come immediately? Isn’t that interesting?

Have you ever been in a situation where you had been praying about a situation for a while, and because it didn’t, or hasn’t happened, the devil starts to fling thoughts at you, thoughts such as ‘God doesn’t love you’, ‘God doesn’t care’, ‘maybe God loves other people because He answers their prayers, but not you’, as a way of trying to explain why God hasn’t answered your prayers yet? Or, maybe he doesn’t say that outright. Instead he plants seeds of doubt… ‘Don’t you think you’re too much of a sinner for him to truly love you?’; or ‘Hmm… are you sure God really loves you? Really? Doesn’t look like it, if he’s letting you suffer’. Reading this, I think this is exactly what John is trying to pre-empt. It’s almost like he’s saying, ‘Let me set the record straight, Jesus really loved these people, that was never in doubt, so don’t go thinking otherwise’.

What is even more intriguing is that right after emphasising the fact that Jesus loved their family, the passage then goes on to say, “So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” What?! You would think thanks to the love and all, one would get fast track service. And yet, this does not seem to be the case.

Jesus is not cruel though, He did not stay where He was for an extra two days to prolong their anguish. He clearly stated the reason why He stayed, which is always the reason why Jesus does anything really, for the glory of God, and for Him to be glorified.

But, did He not realise this delay would cause them anguish? He probably did, which is why Jesus had already spoken and sent forth a word concerning the situation, “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.” That word, that promise (and God always has one for us, if we go to Him in prayer), if believed, and combined with a knowledge of Jesus’ character and love, was to be a source of comfort. The question is, do we believe this? Do we know just how much Jesus loves us? Do we know that God is love personified?

And that’s really all I want to do in this post today, to remind you that you are so, so loved by God. And nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate you from that love. Don’t just take it from me though, hear it directly form the source:

“The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion.” (Jeremiah 31:3, BSB).

Romans 8:38-39 says, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

To expand this a bit from the MSG, “So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing Himself to the worst by sending His own Son, is there anything else He wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” (Romans 8:31-39, MSG).

Wow. Wow. Wow. What manner of love… Hallelujah!!! Of course, it’s not just all talk and no action. You only need to look to the cross for the powerful, passionate, physical proof of that love.

And so, when the devil, the father of lies, comes with another one of his deceptive thoughts, picked from his pathetic bag of hateful, repugnant lies, we can wash away his distortions and deceptions by flooding our minds with this scripture, over and over, until we are wholly and utterly convinced of this truth.

“God is love” (1 John 4:8). It is the very essence of His unchanging nature. And He loves us with an everlasting (Jeremiah 31:3), unfailing, unshakeable (Isaiah 54:10), great (1 John 3:1), demonstrable (Romans 5:8), sacrificial (John 3:16, Galatians 2:20) love. As Billy Graham put it, “God’s love is unchangeable. He knows exactly what we are and loves us anyway.” Imagine being so loved by the one who knows everything about you. Not the filtered version of you, the authentic, unfiltered version. True love at its realest and finest.

I love how John refers to Himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” (John 13:23, 20:2, 21:20). For there is nothing more powerful and life-giving than truly getting to realise the depth of God’s love for us. I think I might start referring to myself like that, ‘Liv, the one Jesus loves.’ :), to drive home this truth.

To be fully seen, fully known and fully loved, what a precious, beautiful gift God bestows on us.

And so, what better way to round up this post than with a prayer from Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT):
“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Amen and Amen!

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