Where's My Miracle?

And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well;
go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” Mark 5:34

The Gospel of Mark.

A man with too many demons to count. Tormented day and night, he lives among the tombs. Written off. Alone. Yet at the feet of Jesus he is made whole again.

A woman plagued by bleeding for more than 12 years. She is drained – physically, emotionally and financially. With a touch of Jesus’ cloak, she is healed.

A ruler of the synagogue whose only daughter is at death’s door pleads with Jesus. Word comes of her death, but for Jesus death is no different than sleep. He “wakes” the girl and gives her back to her family.

These are wonderful accounts from the life and ministry of Jesus. The kind that make me wish I could spend just one day watching Jesus move mountains. The kind that make me stand in awe of the God of the universe. Faith. Healing. Resurrection. Great stuff!

Yet if we are honest, these accounts can leave a weird aftertaste. The kind of aftertaste that begs the question, “Where is my miracle?” or “Where was my miracle?”

Where was my miracle when my mother battled cancer for three and a half years? For that matter, where was her miracle?

Where is my brother’s miracle as he battles cancer today?

Where was my aunt’s miracle as her husband battled Leukemia?

Where are parents’ miracles as they watch their child slip away?

Where was your miracle? Where?

But caution is in order here. Miracles are part of the story, but they are far from the whole story. Is it possible that the miracles are there to show us who Jesus is – God in the flesh – but that the other details show us what He came to do?

Jesus’ day was no different than our own. It was often some kind of personal need that brought people to Jesus: One of life’s fearful storms. Relentless demons. A debilitating disease. A loved one on the brink. These were the things that drove many to seek Him out. Yet Jesus always addressed a deeper need – a spiritual one.

Let’s take a look at the woman in these verses. She has secretly touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and has been healed. The story could have ended there: Jesus keeps walking. She goes home. Great story.

But it’s not the end. Rather, Jesus turns a secret healing mission into a public confession of faith. He moves from something good to something great. He takes a temporary physical fix and leverages it for permanent and eternal significance.

Her mission may be finished, but His is not.

Jesus stops the whole procession and calls out, “Who touched me?” She tries to hide, but she knows He knows. And He knows she knows He knows. So He asks again, looking her way this time, “Who touched me?” The compassion and gentleness of Christ compel her. She can hear it in His voice and see it in His eyes. She squeezes through the crowd, falls before him and “tells him the whole truth.”

And what is the result? She is saved. For eternity. Jesus makes it explicit. Although it is often translated “your faith has made you well,” we could just as easily translate it “your faith has saved you.” In this case, it meant both.

She could feel the physical healing in her body (v. 29) and now Jesus brings spiritual healing to her soul. He pronounces “shalom” or “peace” to her, a term with fantastic significance for the people of Israel. It meant that all was right between her and God – wholeness, unity, a restored relationship. Shalom. He calls her “daughter” – a child of God (something her disease had convinced her she wasn’t).

As the text says, the woman told Jesus the “whole truth.” I imagine “this whole truth” was quite a story. We don’t know where her story began or how long it lasted, but we know where it ended – at the feet of Jesus Christ – testifying of her faith and His redeeming work.

Jesus offers that same shalom, that same salvation to us. And He offers it the same way. The Apostle Paul tells us that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

It’s a promise. And the miracles of Jesus are here to show us that He will make good on that promise.

"The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save." Zeph 3:17

"The Right Foundation"

[This entry is Part Two of a three-part series entitled "Put to the Test"]

Figuring that the resource had not been tapped for all it was worth, I continued crock-potting on Jesus’ analogy regarding the wise man who builds his house on the rock and the foolish man who builds his house on the sand (Matthew 7:24-27). Like we talked about in the last blog entry, one of these men that Jesus describes built according to the plans of the Master Builder – according to the words of Jesus. The other did not put Jesus’ “life-construction guidelines” to work and so, we can suppose, relied upon something else for his design and construction plans. Whether he relied upon his own knowledge and reason or some kind of human philosophy we don’t know. What we do know is that he did not put Jesus’ words into action despite having heard them.

As I continued to ponder the men described by Jesus and the outcome of their lives, an important truth was revealed. According to this parable, the long-term sustainability of this construction was not really proven until the houses were exposed to the elements of this world over the course of time.

It is possible that the house built on the sand looked really promising for a time. As a matter of fact, it may have been the most beautiful home in town when construction was finished. But eventually the storms of life came along and tested that construction. Jesus’ description of the storm sounds quite similar to the hurricanes and tropical storms hitting the Caribbean and portions of the United States as I write this. Rain falling in sheets. Flood waters rising. Winds blowing and beating on every structure in sight.

This brings back memories of the widespread damage in the Midwest this past Summer as rivers paid no heed to their banks and brought powerful currents to bear against homes as well as entire towns. Thinking back to the news coverage of these floods, I was reminded of amazing video footage of two houses along the Wisconsin River. The power of the flooded river’s current had been pounding the earth supporting two particular homes for days. Eventually so much ground was washed away that both homes literally snapped in two and crashed into the river one after the other. We’re talking entire homes…snapping in two and being carried away by the river. Amazing.

Interestingly, even moments before their fall, these were two beautiful homes. But their long-term sustainability was intimately tied to the ground underneath. The future of these homes was inextricably linked to their foundations. Much like those who hear Jesus’ words but choose to go their own way, certainly these people had been warned of the inherent risks of construction in this area. It was obvious to anyone standing there. Despite the assurances they may have received from others around them, building here was a roll of the dice. It might be 100 years before a big enough flood came, but eventually it would come. They knew the risks and chose to take their chances. They decided that the potential pleasures outweighed the risks.



The same is true of those who build on a foundation other than Christ. This is described for us in Romans chapter 1. Here Paul tells us that what can be known about God is plain to everyone, because God’s nature is revealed to all people by the world around us – the world He created. But some, despite knowing that God exists and knowing what He desires, choose not to honor him as God or give thanks to him, but instead they choose to go their own way (Romans 1:19-21). They roll the dice.

Having a foundation built solidly on Christ – the Rock – has daily implications for a home’s sustainability as well as eternal ramifications. The worldview (and Godview) presented by Jesus gives us a healthy guideline for living whether we’re celebrating a sunny day at the beach, enduring a cloudy, humid Midwestern day or holding on in the midst of a Category 4 hurricane. This worldview and Godview help us to answer questions like: What really matters? What should be truly important to me? Where should I place my priorities and my energies? How should I view God, myself and others in light of the storms of life? How do I handle difficulties in my finances, family, and marriage? How do I make sense of the death of a loved one? Jesus has answers for all of these questions. Answers that give sustainability and solidarity to our daily lives.

But Jesus isn’t just concerned about today. He’s concerned about eternity. According to Jesus and other New Testament writers, many will hear the words of Christ and yet choose to construct their own worldview and trust in themselves rather than God. Unfortunately, this will only end in disappointment and separation from God and all that is good It is not a roll of the dice that anyone should take, yet, like the people who built on the banks of the Wisconsin River, many will pick up those dice and take their chances. And many houses will crumble.

If you’re still reading, there’s a chance you’re saying, “Gee, Troy. Thanks for the uplifting message today.” I’m with you, but while this all may sound like gloom and doom, there is a bright spot to the story: People can move! Just because you built a house on the banks of the Wisconsin River doesn’t mean you can’t put that house on the market and move to solid ground. It’s not too late to realize you’ve made a mistake and relocate.

When those two houses plunged into the river, they were unoccupied. The people who had at one time decided it was a good place to invest had abandoned that thinking and taken everything they could salvage. As soon as they realized the foundation was crumbling, they moved to higher ground. They were going to start rebuilding on a solid foundation.

If this is you… if you have been building a foundation and a home on your own building plans – your own wisdom, intelligence or perception of reality – it's not too late to abandon ship! Now is the time to move. The offices of the Master Builder are open 24/7 and your bad credit and flood insurance history are no problem. He is always interested in developing a new neighborhood to be part of his Master Planned Community (he calls it “The Kingdom” – sounds spectacular doesn’t it!?). A heart that is ready to follow him is just the location He is looking for. You'll never tire of the views (you can see for an eternity!) and likely begin to wish that you could stay forever. The Good News is that you can. His Son already has your mortgage taken care of. It’s a family business and you are now part of the family. Welcome to the neighborhood.