As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
Mark 1:29-31
This encounter with Jesus happens because he does all the “coming.”
· He comes to the house.
· He comes to the person.
· He comes to the problem.
But an encounter with Jesus doesn’t have to end there. After he does all the “coming,” he doesn’t come empty-handed.
· He comes with the power.
· He comes with the healing.
Jesus comes, starting right where we are, with all our failures, with all our weaknesses, with all our worries, with all our baggage. He doesn’t say, “All right then, get yourself up, clean yourself up, dust yourself off, clean up your act. And when you’ve got yourself together, then perhaps we can talk.”
No, Jesus just tells us to come. And when we just come, he does the stepping up, he does the restoration.
Fear of God is less about trembling and cowering, and more about seeing life from God’s perspective. If he truly is our creator, loving father, and savior, then we will “bow” our perspective on life and live it based on who he is.
When we come to realize who God is, when we see life and reality from his perspective, we can receive and acknowledge his power and healing in our lives. And when we do that, life changes.
And Jesus’ kind of healing wasn’t what they were used to. Normally, after someone is sick, they need time to regain their strength. But a Jesus healing doesn’t just make her feel better but returns strength right away. And that returned strength motivates her to get up and serve Jesus and the disciples.
The healing wasn’t for her benefit, so she could be interviewed or increase her podcast viewership, growing her followers. No, healing was for service, not for selfishness. We are not to wallow in our healing but to get up and give of ourselves.
We aren’t to sit still, laying back in our spiritual or physical reclining chairs at home. We aren’t to sit back, licking our wounds, feeling sorry for ourselves. Nor are we stay safely in our comfortable cocoons or comfort zones, trying to protect ourselves from the pain of the world.
We are to “go out” into our neighborhoods, to our friends, families, and yes even to total strangers. We are to not only speak, but to lovingly, actively live our lives in service to others.
She got up and actively waited on Jesus, her family, and their friends. It included people that she knew for a long time and total strangers. And this “waiting” didn’t end with a single trip, she kept coming back, over and over she kept serving.
She probably brought water, food and wine, making multiple trips to the kitchen and bringing out what she had, what they needed. Her response to Jesus was like that Energizer Bunny, it keeps going, and going, and going[1].
Which brings up the question, how’s your “going, and going, and going” doing? Are you running out of energy? Is the warning light of your life blinking red, telling you to refuel?
If it is, then you need to run, don’t walk, run to Jesus. You need to purposefully plan to be with him.
I recently was on a trip in my electric car. While I had set the software to take me home, it kept telling me to get off the road that I knew would take me home. I had made this same trip many times, I knew exactly the right way to get home, the shortest, fastest route.
I ignored the voice commands and kept on going. But the car repeatedly told me to get off and go back in the direction I had come from.
I knew the instructions were wrong, but curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to follow the instructions. I went “backward” or so I thought. I was directed to a charging station because the car “knew” that I didn’t have enough power to make it home.
Is Jesus telling you to let go of what you “know” and your past experience to follow him? Is he directing you to “pull off the road” so he can recharge you? If the answer is “yes,” then it is for his glory, our good, and the good of others as well.
[1] https://youtu.be/QxafIhYFOr0
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