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He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” - John 11:4

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John 11: 1-6

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

Beautiful butterflies

Every time I do my morning walk, I mostly always take advantage of opportunities to capture the beauty of flowers on my way. In doing so, I come across some stunningly beautiful butterflies. They are not only attractive but also beneficial for our ecosystem. They serve as pollinators, are part of the food chain, and indicate a stable and balanced environment. To be that impactful, these butterflies should undergo a process called metamorphosis that lasts from 2 to 6 six weeks, depending on the species. Metamorphosis, the Greek word, which means transformation or change in shape. Butterflies should go through four stages in the metamorphosis process: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The metamorphosis starts when the female butterflies lay their eggs on host plants. In the larva stage, these eggs hatch and become caterpillars; these caterpillars eat a lot, their bodies expand, and their skins shed multiple times. In the pupa stage, when the caterpillars reach their full-grown size, they stop eating and become chrysalis and seek secured sites to undergo the process of cell growth. In the adult stage, they are ready to see the world after fully grown and their wings dry. 

In today’s Bible passage, we are exposed to the chronicle of Lazarus and his two siblings, Mary and Martha. They have an intimate relationship with Jesus; Jesus spends time with them, Mary anoints Jesus with fragrant oil and wipes His feet with her hair, and Jesus loves them (John 11:2; Luke 10:38-42; John 11: 3-5). These two sisters send a message to Jesus, notifying him of Lazarus’s ailment. I think that behind this message, they also hope that Jesus will come immediately and cure him. Yet, Jesus does not come right away. Jesus awaits for two days and eventually pays them a visit. When Jesus gets there, Lazarus has been laid in the tomb for four days. This passage puts in the picture that, like Lazarus and his two sisters, who love God and are loved by God, we, children of God, are not free from adversities: problems, mental health issues, sicknesses, and death. Following Jesus does not mean our lives will be easy and smooth, and everything we want will be granted to us in the blink of an eye. To be Christians, the followers and disciples of Christ, we are called to be tough and strong to face adversities. We are not called to give up and blame people and situations easily. We are called to be obedient. To obey God’s commands and words is not always easy. Nevertheless, one thing for sure is that His love, providence, and strengths are provided for us.  

Many times in our lives, we might complain and question, why should I, God? Why should I experience this? How long will I be in this situation? Why should I meet these problematic people? Why should things be this difficult? What sins did I commit in the past that made me deserve to face these troubling situations? We could keep asking our list of never-ending whys.

In today’s passage, Jesus seems to “postpone” his coming to see and visit Lazarus and his sisters. However, as Jesus said, “…… it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (Verse 4). This verse is an excellent reminder that those are chances where God’s glory is glorified in our adversities. Those are silent times to reflect and see inside us. Those are opportunities to worship God with our attitudes towards adversities. Those are moments when God might make us aware of the sins we repeatedly commit. Those are occasions to work on the past traumatic experiences we should heal with God that influence how we interact with people. Those are worshipping times to experience God personally, not based on what people say or experience. Those are self-discovery momentum of who we are before God. Those are reflection junctures to see how we perceive ourselves before God in the perfect mirror of His perspective. Those are enlightening encounters and experiences with God. 

Utilizing the analogy of a butterfly, we, children of God, are created to be like enchanting butterflies. To be exquisite and beneficial, we should experience a metamorphosis or transformation for the glory of God. Transformation takes forms in many ways. Like butterflies, to experience transformation, we should be deeply rooted in a secure and robust host plant. Deeply secured in the love of God, deeply rooted in the Lord. We should keep eating spiritual food from God’s words and getting spiritual nourishment from the bread of life. We should be ready for adversities that can knock us to the ground. These experiences might be uncomfortable, troubling, and painful. We might be in the darkest hours and lowest points of our lives. Adversities are part of our journey, struggle, and most significant moments with God, and they construct and define who we are.

Start putting an end to question why should me. Start thinking and doing what God desires us to do in these troubling situations. Start pondering how to glorify God in these adversities. Start requesting earnestly more wisdom and strength to deal with these adversities because we are called to be more than conquerors.  ^“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Rome 8: 37)”.   

Reflection on John 11:1-6 by Deisyi

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