Love… does not seek its own…
— 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Have you ever wondered why Jesus did not rush off to heal Lazarus as soon as He learned he was sick? The Bible says that when Jesus heard Lazarus was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. From a human point of view this looks very hard-hearted and indifferent. What would you have done in such a situation? Most likely you would have jumped up at once and run to save the person you love — and Jesus did love Lazarus. So how could this be, and why did the Lord delay?

The simple fact is that human love is selfish. Even when we think about other people, we think first of all about ourselves. Perhaps someone will disagree, but believe me, perfect love is only God’s love, not human love. Many of us would have run at once to save Lazarus, because we would be frightened by the thought that, God forbid, something might happen to our loved one. In that case it is fear that moves a person, but Scripture says that there is no fear in love. Or, for example, we would run to save our loved one because of an unnoticed thought: “How I will suffer if I never see my loved one again”, but God’s love does not seek its own.

This is what Jesus said to the disciples when He explained why He had stayed two more days: “…Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.” (Jhn.11:14-15) When we look at a situation, we see it fifty or a hundred metres ahead, figuratively speaking, but Jesus, being God in the flesh, sees the beginning and the end. What moves the Lord is not sentimentality, fears, a sense of duty or personal feelings, but the perfect love of God. In this situation the Lord was thinking not only of Lazarus, but also of Martha and Mary, of His disciples, and of the thousands of Jews who later believed through the raising of Lazarus.

Jesus knew that Lazarus’s death would bring sorrow to the people He loved, but He said: “I am glad for your sakes.” The Lord already saw the end result and rejoiced for His disciples, for He knew that the raising of Lazarus would give them not only faith but also great joy. In the same way, when Jesus Himself died on the cross, His disciples were in sorrow, but when they saw the risen Lord, they rejoiced. He once said to His disciples: “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” (Jhn.16:22)

Prayer
Holy Father, thank You for Your perfect and selfless love. For my sake You gave the dearest thing You had — Your beloved Son — so that I would believe and abide forever in Your joy. Thank You, Lord, that You revealed to me the boundless love of my heavenly Father when You did not spare Your life but gave it up for me. Your great love does not seek its own. You only give and ask nothing in return. Spirit of God, keep revealing to me the love of Christ and filling my heart with Daddy’s love. Amen!