Making the Story Known - March 21

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 80; PM Psalm 77, [79]; Gen. 44:18-34; 1 Cor. 7:25-31; Mark 5:21-43

On Sunday morning, I met an Evangelist.  He wasn’t your typical evangelist, but he looked at me eagerly as I greeted people before the service.  “Do you know Paw Patrol?” he asked.   I shook my head responding that I knew very little, and he wanted to tell me a whole lot more.  Over the next ninety seconds or so, I received a beautiful explanation of the power of Paw Patrol and why I should be watching Paw Patrol.  His parents joked about how he loved to spread the good news of Paw Patrol.  I think they are on to something.

In the Gospel stories, people experience life-changing healing.  Hemorrhaging stops in today’s story by a woman who encounters God, pressing through a crowd.  At the same time, a man named Jairus is concerned about his own daughter’s health. She is near the point of death, the crowd is already grieving the loss, and Jesus places his hand on her own hand and her life is restored. 

You and I are followers of Jesus because others proclaimed the power of God in their lives.  We get caught up in the story, moved to compassion, love, and transformation, not because a church has a good youth program and the ‘right’ people at church (whatever that means), but because of the power of God to heal and restore life. 

In one weekend I personally witnessed three different stories of remarkable compassion (that I can’t write about), people in our community trying to selflessly help others be whole, without any credit to themselves.  If these were just isolated events, we might say people are good.  I’d like to suggest that attributing acts of healing and kindness to individuals misses what is really at work, that is the power of God.  If God is the source of love, it is God’s work in each of us that is transforming this world into the kingdom of God.

As I reflect this morning, it dawns on me how important it is to be evangelists to the power of the love of Christ.  To my new three-year-old Paw Patrol evangelist friend: I hope I live with the same passion for telling the story of God’s love and healing power as you do for Paw Patrol.  Thank you for reminding me to tell the story and to invite others into the story too.  God is so good and Jesus’s healing love is all around us.  We just need to help make the story known.

John+

Questions for Self-Reflection:  How have you seen the work of God alive in your own life?  Where have you seen healing, hope, and miracles?

Daily Challenge:  Tell someone how God has changed your life.  Try inviting someone to church, not because of the programs the church offers, but because of what God has done in your life.