The Speed of Love
3 Reflections
Jesus is never in a hurry. John tells us, "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days" (John 11:5–6). That "so…" sounds like a contradiction. We expect love to run to meet the need, and yet Jesus stayed where He was…two more days. He wasn't indifferent to their grief. He stayed because love knew what it was doing, even when Martha and Mary couldn’t understand it.
Love is willing to take its time. We often want God to move quickly because we’re focused on relief. But God sees more than the outcome we’re asking for. He sees what needs to be formed in us, what needs to be revealed to us, and what He intends to reveal about Himself. Japanese theologian Kosuke Koyama put it this way: "God walks 'slowly' because he is love… Love has its speed. It is an inner speed. It is a spiritual speed… It is 'slow' yet it is lord over all other speeds since it is the speed of love." Love refuses to be hurried when hurrying would harm the one it loves.
Faith means trusting God’s timing as much as His promise. We tend to believe God is faithful when we can measure His activity. But faith learns to trust Him when nothing appears to be changing. Jesus arrived four days after Lazarus had died, and He was still right on time.
"Be assured that if God waits longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious." - Andrew Murray
2 Scriptures
"Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you… Blessed are all those who wait for Him."
— Isaiah 30:18
"The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you."
— 2 Peter 3:9
1 Action
Ask yourself:
where have I started measuring God's love by how quickly my circumstances change?
Somewhere in the waiting, a conclusion may have formed: "He's forgotten about me…If He cared, something would have changed by now." Bring that before God this week, and resist the urge to rush what He’s doing. Stay present to the work He's doing now, not just the outcome you're waiting for.
Jesus stayed two more days, and it was still love. Love has its own speed, and God is never late.
Grace and peace,
NEIL
