The One You Love

February 15, 2026

Since yesterday was Valentine’s Day, today we’re talking about love!

When I was 6 or 7 years old, I told my mom, “You know, if I was walking with Pat and Ed” (they were my brother 9 and 10 years older than me) “and I got hit by a car, they would say, ’Well, that’s that!’” You know, I was the annoying younger sister, who wouldn’t listen to them, and I thought they had had enough of me.

My mother laughed. Ed and Pat said no they wouldn’t! They loved me! That was a big surprise to me! Really? I was surprised they loved me! I didn’t know it.

Here’s another surprise: when I became a mom, I was not prepared for babies! I didn’t realize they really wake up all hours of the night, until I was pregnant. Then I asked my mom: was I like that when I was a baby? Yes! I did that too? I realized my parents loved me more than I thought, getting up in the middle of the night, and going without sleep because I was crying.  I was surprised to find out my parents loved me that much!

Your family loves you more than you realize! You drive them crazy, but they still love you! And your friends love you more than you realize. You are loved. Tell someone near you, “You are loved!”

How about God, what does God think about you? He’s different than your family and friends. He is holy and all good. We’re going to find out today what God really thinks of you.

We’re looking at the story of the time Lazarus gets sick. Jesus has some friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. They were sisters and brother. They weren’t Jesus’ 12 disciples, but Jesus would go to their house for dinners often. They took good care of him. Martha would make an amazing meal. Mary would sit and listen to Jesus teach, which would drive Martha crazy! She wanted her sister to help her! Lazarus was Jesus’ good friend, a great friend! If not a best friend, one of the best friends Jesus had.

Well one day, Lazarus gets sick, very sick. And he needs more than rest. He’s seriously ill and needs a miracle. Mary and Martha know Jesus is a miracle worker, so they send a message to Jesus: “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

The way they go about asking Jesus to help their brother is strange. If it were my brother who was sick, who needed a miracle, I would give God a list of why He should help! Let’s say my brother Joe needs a miracle. I’d say, “He’s a very generous person, He goes to church. He loves you, Lord! He calls me every week; he makes sure me and my family are alright. You know Joe, please help him!”

But that’s not what Mary and Martha do. They don’t say, “Lazarus deserves a miracle, and we’re going to remind you why he does.” Instead, the message they send Jesus is “Lord, the one you love is sick.”  

Why? Because of what they believe about Jesus. They don’t say, “Lazarus loves you, Lord, he’s a good guy, you’ve got to help him!” Instead, they just say, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” That’s it! If you had one letter to send to God to save your brother or sister or a friend’s life, it would not be short! You want to make a great case! You would write a big letter of recommendation. You might not like writing, but you’re going to write a book about your friend or your family member’s goodness! This is life or death!

But see, here is what Mary and Martha believe. They believe what will move God to heal their brother is HIS love for Lazarus, not Lazarus love for him.

Which messes up my thinking. I am trying to be a good pastor, wife, parent, friend, follower of God, and do the right thing. But is the gospel, the good news, is it all about what I do for God? And is the gospel about what you do for God? Or is the gospel all about God’s love for the world? Which is it? Well, it’s about God’s love for the world!

What’s the most famous verse in the Bible? John 3:16. Which says, “God so loved the world, that he sent his son Jesus….” Notice it’s God SO loved the world. God didn’t just love the world. He SO loved it. Did you ever have a friend who is SO into something? I had a friend who loved the books by the romance novelist, Barbara Cartland. My friend had her books on her book shelves. Barbara Cartland wrote 723 novels. My friend had a lot of them! She probably borrowed some from the library. Whoa! She was obsessed with Barbara Cartland novels. Do you know someone who is obsessed?

It turns out, that is how God feels about you! He is obsessed with you! If you forget him, he still loves you. He still thinks you’re the greatest thing! John 3:16 is a weird verse if you think about it! It says, “God so loved the world!” When we talk about “the world,” we often mean bad things and bad people. John 3:16 says God is obsessed with bad people! He loves them! So much that he sent Jesus to save whoever, both good and bad people. God’s love isn’t dependent on the good you’ve done. There’s no formula that says, “You have to do this much good, and God subtracts the bad you’ve done from your good deed total. No, it says God was so obsessed with the all the people in the word, that he sent his only Son, so that whoever believes would have everlasting life. Whoever.

This is not good for God. It sounds like maybe God needs an intervention: we need to tell Him: People are taking advantage of you, God! There are people out there who are bad and they’re going to stay bad. But still you are obsessed with them! You just love them no matter what!

God loves the world! He gives us free will. God doesn’t force anyone to follow him. You can acknowledge God’s love for you, or not. It’s your choice. But no matter your choice, God is still obsessed with you!

1 John 4:10 tells what love is. First it tells what love is not. It says, “This is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us.” God creates love. God loves first. He starts it. Mary and Martha understood that. God is the source of love. Jesus will help Lazarus. It’s not about what Lazarus deserves. It’s about who God is. God is love!

Knowing that God is love puts me in my place. I don’t deserve God’s love and help. Sometimes I’m good, sometimes I’m bad, yet God loves me no matter what. God’s love is different from human love. It’s otherworldly love. God loves you and me, even when we’re at our worst, because God is obsessed with loving us. We don’t have to notice Him or pray to Him, for Him to love us. He just does. He loves!

Here’s my challenge for you this week: let go of performing for God’s love and stop worrying that you’re not worthy of God’s love. Just understand that He always loves you! You don’t need a long resume to impress God. If you want to do something for God, follow Jesus as your leader. Take him as your Savior. Trust in him. But God loves you either way!

Mary and Martha’s brother was very sick. They sent a short note to Jesus: the one you love is sick. Maybe because they were such good friends with Jesus, and they heard him teach so often, they knew Jesus just loved them, their brother and every person in the world! So, they sent a short note. He’s sick. You love him. HELP! Jesus didn’t come right away. Jesus got there AFTER their brother had already died! But Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Not because Lazarus did good deeds and always let Jesus have the last piece of bread at dinner. He raised Lazarus because Jesus was God, and God is love! You don’t have to wonder what God thinks about you. He loves you, he’s obsessed with you, and he will always love you! Amen.