Scripture Reflections

John 11:5-6 is remarkable, and yet totally perplexing: “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.”
 
Both Martha and Mary say to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus was capable of preventing Lazarus’ death—the sisters knew it!—but because of his love for them, Jesus stayed away. Out of love, he hid himself from them in their time of need.
 
If you have ever been at a point of need—physically, emotionally, relationally—and felt that God seemed absent in that moment, you can understand the grief and frustration of Martha and Mary. His absence is hard to understand, and the claim that it might be out of love seems non-sensical. Love (to us) means that he would show up and do something! And yet, out of love, he sometimes seems to hide himself.
 
Jesus makes it clear why he did this. He said to Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” His absence was on purpose, out of love, because he had a greater glory to reveal to them, the sort of glory that only comes on the other side of the valley of the shadow of death.
 
Paul was given this greater glory, as well. Throughout II Corinthians he testifies that the comfort, grace, and power of God can only be seen on the far side of suffering, weakness, and the silence of God. Very simply, our short-sighted vision has to be extinguished in order for us to see the greater glory that God desires to give us.
 
The rest of Paul’s testimony in II Corinthians is helpful, because it also guards us from slipping into the belief that we will necessarily be given a reason for a particular suffering or the belief that all suffering will be removed in this life. Our hope—the vision of glory—is in “God who raises the dead” (II Cor. 1:9), not a god who promises to keep us from death. God’s sufficient presence, comfort, grace, and power are promised, even if we don’t understand everything we are facing.
 
If you find yourself confronted with the seeming absence of God in a moment of darkness, do not assume that it means that God is not there or that he does not love you. Instead, wait with fervent expectation for the glorious God who raises the dead.
 
Steven+