Skip to main content

Question of willingness

When Jesus encountered a man full of leprosy, very interesting conversation happened. Here it is:

"While He was in one of the towns, there came a man full of (covered with) leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cure me and make me clean.
And [Jesus] reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed! And immediately the leprosy left him." Luke 5:12,13


As I was contemplating on these 2 verses, tears welled up in my eyes. Here was a man full of leprosy, a social outcast, who is not allowed to move freely among the society. His words spoke volumes about his faith in Jesus, but humble enough to seek confirmation about Jesus willingness to heal him. In other words, we can infer that none of the people around this man are willing in his well being. He was kind of helpless.

Jesus response and actions were equally surprising -
  1. He reached out His hand - This action of Jesus signifies that it was His purpose to bridge the gap between the human race and God. Until Jesus arrival, man and God are separated but upon his arrival, there is a bridge between the two parties - the bridge being Jesus Himself.
  2. He touched him - Even though it was prohibited by Moses' law to touch a leprous man, Jesus touched him. I am wondering, in our modern times (where we have so many advanced medical facilities) how many of us are willing to touch a man full of leprosy, who is in need of help.
  3. He confirmed, "I am willing; be cleansed!" - What a great news. By confirming His willingness, He is making a statement that God is willing to reach out, touch and heal us. It is indeed a good news for us - "God is willing!"
Knowing the fact that God is willing, now the question is are we willing to seek God's hand in our day to day matters by thanking Him for His willingness to intervene in our lives? As a matter of fact, this is what God's grace is all about - His willingness.

Questions to ponder:
  1. Knowing God's willingness, are you willing to seek His help?
  2. If not, can you make a note of the reasons?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Lord is my Light and the Rock of salvation

Read Pslams 27:1 - 3 1 THE LORD is my Light and my Salvation--whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, [even then] in this will I be confident. In this Psalm, the author sings with confidence "The Lord is my light and the rock of my salvation. Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear". Important fact to note is the confidence with which he sings. Many times, we go through our days without confidence and peace that we observe in the psalmist. The author goes to the extent of declaring that he will not be afraid even if an enemy encamps around him or a war comes up. There is a promise in the Bible, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything with prayers and thanksgiving submit your requests to God and the ...

Walking before God

"I beseech You, O Lord, [earnestly] remember now how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth and with a whole heart [entirely devoted to You] and have done what is good in Your sight..." 2 Kings 20:3 In Faithfulness - Do not turn away from God depending on the situation. We are to remain faithful to Him no matter what the circumstances may be. Our faithfulness to God should not depend on our feelings. It should be based on our Faith in Him. In Truth - Not having any hypocrisy, being honest and open before the Lord. Walking in Truth before God becomes easy if we realize that He is our heavenly father. We don't have to wear a mask of holiness in approaching God. We are encouraged to approach God just as we are. With whole heart - Devote yourself to God alone. We are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus as He is our role model. God is pleased with 100% devotion to Him. Nobody can serve two masters effectively. We read from the Bible in Luke 16:13 "No ser...

Care to be different and make a difference

"And Jesus replied to them, It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to arouse and invite and call the righteous, but the erring ones (those not free from sin) to repentance [to change their minds for the better and heartily to amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins]." Luke 5:31,32 The above words were spoken by Jesus in response to Pharisees and scribes who were complaining that Jesus and His disciples were eating with tax collectors and preeminently sinful people. The Pharisees and scribes were the religious leaders of the day and they were living hypocrite lives and misunderstood the whole concept of living separated life (Holy life). Outwardly, in view of the public, they were very religious, looking very gentle and pious. At the same time, they distanced themselves from common people who were needy, such as sick people, tax collectors, slaves, poor people etc. They had this wrong understanding about the...