When we truly embrace healing, we also embrace moving on.
As I was recently reading through the Gospel of Mark, I came upon the story of Jesus healing Peter’s (still called Simon a the time), mother-in-law. It’s only a couple of verses without very many details, but the implications jumped out at me.
“Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they 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 1:30-31, NIV
Now I have to admit, as I read it the first time, I thought to myself, “My goodness! This woman has been sick in bed with a fever. A fever really wears you out. Can’t the poor woman take a little break, a little rest from taking care of everyone around her?” I mean, the minute she got well, she was up and waiting on them. I feel like these kind of women make me look bad.
But, at a second, more prayerful reading, subtracting my own cultural bias from the story, some other words took center stage. “He went to her, took her hand and helped her up.” That’s the headline here, so to speak. Jesus took the woman’s hand and helped her up.
Can you imagine, the Son of God, reaching for your hand and helping you up? She was immediately healed of her physical ailment, but I wonder what else changed within her at that moment? Did she know who Jesus was in that moment? Could she feel his enormous power and the inner healing that also came from his touch?
Mark’s Gospel doesn’t give us any further info, or does it? How did Jesus heal her? He took her hand and helped her get up out of the bed. She was cured. How did she respond?
She waited on them. The NLT version says she made them a meal. While the details differ in the translation, the point is the same. She served them. She went from being a victim to serving them. She sets a great example for our society that loves to dwell on being victims.
We will take legal action against our neighbors in matters ranging from simple fender benders to coffee being served too hot. Life is not fair and we believe the world owes us something to even the playing field. If we feel slighted in some way by a friend, or a neighbor, or our spouse, we will “vent,” to anyone who will listen. Even when the matter gets settled, we will often continue to dig it up and complain.
I imagine that Satan delights in that. If we can stay made or hurt, we continue to be victims. Like Peter’s mother-in-law, we just lie in our proverbial bed with a fever, wallowing in our negative emotions. We are completely ineffective for God when we do that. We are sidelined. Who wins then?
We all have the opportunity to be like Peter’s mother-in-law. We can reach for Jesus’ hand and get up. We can embrace forgiveness and healing and then we can go right to the next important step. We can serve. It doesn’t matter how we serve. What matters is that we move on and then God gets the glory. I think that looks like a better plan. What do you think?
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂