The disciple John had favorite way of speaking about himself in the third person throughout the Gospel that he wrote. “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.”
But he was not the only one. There is also Lazarus. “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
John followed Jesus as his disciple for three years. He cast out demons and healed the sick. He was a participant in feeding the four thousand and the five thousand. He accompanied Jesus up onto a mountain where he and only two others saw him transfigured. He took Jesus’ mother as his own adopted mother per Jesus’ request on the cross. He later wrote several books and letters that became a part of the canon of Scripture. There is much we know about John, and many reasons we can imagine why he may have held a special place in Jesus’ heart.
There is much less known about Lazarus. We know more about his sisters than we do about him. Mostly all we know is that he lived in Bethany, a small pass-through town a couple of miles from Jerusalem. We know that Jesus would frequently stay in Lazarus’ home. He never traveled with Jesus as his disciple. There were not, apparently, many worthwhile stories to tell about Lazarus.
Yet Jesus—using the same language he used of himself—loved him.
You may never be one about whom great stories are told. You may never do miracles. You may never be one to write world-changing books. You may never be one of the cool kids in the inner circle.
But you absolutely can be one with whom Jesus stays. And you can absolutely be one whom Jesus loves.
