Showing posts with label Death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Death. Show all posts

Sometimes Interruptions are Good Things

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , , , , | Posted On Friday, October 30, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Beginning in Mark 5:21 we read a powerful story about not one but two healings. Jesus gets out of the boat, after traveling from the region of the Gerasenes. Jairus, leader of the local synagogue, seeks Jesus out for help because his daughter is dying. He asks Jesus to come and heal her. Jesus immediately sets out with Jairus, and crowds of people follow.

Mark tells us about a woman who had suffered from constant bleeding for twelve years. No one had been able to help her; in fact, she had only gotten worse. Her bleeding would also make her ceremonially unclean - she wouldn't be able to fulfill any of the Jewish rituals, so her bleeding blocked ways for her Jewish faith to help her. And because she was "unclean," it wasn't even appropriate for her to approach Jesus, a Jewish teacher. But she is desperate. Can you imagine living with this for twelve years?

"She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, 'If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.' Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition." (Mark 5:27-29, NLT)

It was a miracle! But amazingly, Jesus was aware of what happened, feeling the healing flow out through him, the Bible tells us, and he wants to know who touched his robe. The disciples can't believe what Jesus is saying, because he's surrounded by this large crowd, with all the jostling and pushing. How could he know a miracle had happened?

Yet it had! And the frightened woman came forward, fell to her knees, and told Jesus what had happened. It's obvious that Jesus was thrilled with her act of faith: "...'Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, Your suffering is over.'" (5:34) I can just imagine her relief and joy as she got up and left to tell the world what had happened to her.

But in the meantime, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, telling him his daughter had died and there was no use bothering the Teacher now. I wonder if Jairus was resentful in that moment. He had sought Jesus out and was bringing him to his daughter, when this unclean woman barged in and touched him. Jesus had stopped, sought her out, and blessed her. Could that time have made the difference? The Bible doesn't tell us one way or another, but Jesus assures Jairus not to be afraid but have faith.

So, they proceed on to Jairus' home, where word of the daughter's death had spread and ceremonial mourners had arrived to weep and wail on behalf of the family. Jesus says the little girl isn't dead, just sleeping, and the crowd just laughs. It must have been pretty obvious to all that the girl really was dead.

But Jesus commands the girl to get up, and immediately she does and begins to walk around. Everyone was "...overwhelmed and totally amazed." (5:42) Jesus' delay with the woman had not changed the outcome. In fact, it may have heightened the miracle, causing more praise to go to God.

The thing that strikes me about this whole story is how often I get focused on something I'm going to do, and I plan it and set the plan in motion and then head off to do it. It may be a good plan, even a great plan, but sometimes God has the best plan - if I'm paying attention. Life really is about the journey, more than the destination. Sometimes the interruptions along the way are really doors God opens to allow us to see Him and His work. Rather than interruptions, they're really opportunities to grow our faith. I'm trying to remember this, because sometimes I just feel annoyed, until the "ah-ha!" moment arrives and I see what God was really up to.

I'm convinced that the reason we're often not too aware of God working in our world is because we're not looking for Him to work. We're moving forward with our plans, and we become blind to what God might do on the way. This is one of the reasons I believe reading our Bibles and praying daily are both important - they remind me each day about God and get me looking for Him, even in the interruptions of life. I really am trying to live my life with my "God" radar up and scanning all the time, and I'm seeing God working more than ever. In fact, sometimes the interruptions turn out to be the most important part of my day.

Last Words, Lasting Message

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , , , , , | Posted On Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Courts generally consider the dying words of an individual to hold great weight. In Luke 23 we see Jesus saying three things as he hangs on the cross. We can be sure each thing he says is very important.

After he was nailed to the cross, Jesus says in verse 34: "...'Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing.'" After having been beaten, mocked, ridiculed, wrongly accused and nailed to a cross, Jesus offers forgiveness to those around him. Here we see the heart of God for His children, who time after time wronged Him, yet He still loves and forgives. I honestly have a hard time imagining this level of love, yet I know that through Christ in me, God calls me to this as well. I fall terribly short, but this moment on the cross holds out for me the ideal, the goal, the perfection of love that I aspire to, only by the grace of God.

Luke also tells us that Jesus was crucified between two criminals. One of them taunts Jesus, saying, "'So you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself - and us, too, while you're at it!'" (vs. 39) The other criminal, though, responds, "'Don't you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn't done anything wrong....Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.'" (vss. 40-42)

Jesus is suffering excruciating pain as he hangs on the cross, facing his last hours of life on earth, yet his concern isn't for himself but for this repentant criminal. Jesus utters the second thing on the cross, "'I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.'" (vs. 43) Jesus offered forgiveness, and now he offers love and hope to this man dying next to him. Jesus said he came to seek and save those who were lost, and even as he hangs on the cross facing his own death, he never forgets his mission and purpose. In these last minutes, he enables one more man to follow him into eternity.

If I want a picture of what matters to God, I can't miss it here. Jesus Christ lived and died for us. He never lost sight of his mission, even in his last hours. And he gives us this picture to show us his level of commitment to his mission. We, the church, are the body of Christ in the world today, and his mission is our mission. His level of commitment must become our level of commitment, so that we can remain faithful to him. If he died a horrible death for me, any discomfort I may sometimes experience in seeking those disconnected from God is a small price to pay for all he's done.

But Luke also records Jesus' last words, a prayer, before he dies on the cross: "'Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!'" These words are a quote from Psalm 31:5, with the addition of the word, "Father." And these words from Psalm 31 were traditionally taught by every Jewish mother to her child as the last thing the child would say at night. This prayer of faith as he closed his eyes, was a statement of faith in the Father. No matter what he had been through, Jesus trusted his Heavenly Father (and our Heavenly Father) to care for him.

In his last words, Jesus showed his undying love and concern for us and all those disconnected from God, and his complete trust and faith in his Heavenly Father. He models for us the life he calls us to live, as well. By ourselves, we cannot forgive or love or have this level of faith, but when Jesus is at the center of our lives, His Spirit grows the heart of Jesus within us. And by His power, Jesus' words and actions become ours!
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