The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Luke 17:13,
"Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"
This is the cry of the ten men who had leprosy. In their distress they called out to Jesus to be delivered from their pain and misery.
The gospels are filled with accounts of people in pain, misery, illness, bereavement and infirmity of one kind or another. In chapter 4 we read of Peter's mother-in-law suffering from a high fever. Later in that chapter we read of many who were brought to him who had "various kinds of sickness" and demons. In chapter 5 we read of another man with leprosy and a paralytic. A centurion had a sick servant about to die in chapter 7. In chapter 8 we read of Jairus, a ruler of a synagogue who had a twelve year old daughter dying. In that same chapter we read of a woman who had been "subject to bleeding for twelve years". In chapter 9 the account of a man who had a son with an "evil spirit". This is just a small sampling of the many accounts we read of.
What we find of these accounts is that life then is much like it is today. People suffer. They suffer in a myriad of ways. Why is it there is so much suffering that causes people to cry out for relief and deliverance? If Jesus loves us so, if God loves us so, why not just heal everyone of all their pain, misery, infirmities, sickness and suffering? While Jesus demonstrated his empathy, kindness and love for us by providing relief in these accounts, there must have been multitudes the world over that continued in their suffering.
I am certain part of the answer to that is revealed in all the accounts I cited above. In every case these folks sought out the Lord for deliverance from their misery and suffering. It is precisely that suffering that drove them to seek him. While possibly not everyone may need that urgency to seek the Lord apart from a felt need for deliverance, many, many do. I suspect if I never felt the need for help myself, the Lord might be far from mind.
Paul makes an interesting comment in Romans 8:20-21, "The creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." In God's great love for us, he has allowed things into our lives that drive us to him. His purpose is that we seek him, reach out for him and embrace him in faith. The felt need for deliverance of any kind often drives us right into his arms.
While so many measure the love of God by their many blessings in this life (and rightly so), it is not our happiness in a fulfilling life, absent challenges and hardships, and full of the pleasures and comfort we might seek for ourselves here that is God's agenda for us in this life. This life has one chief primary purpose - to populate God's kingdom. We might view this life as a "birthing room" where folks come into life and then are born again into God's kingdom. We are here to enter into his family and facilitate as many others as possible through the propagation of the gospel.
I do not believe life is all about a college education, a home in the suburbs filled with techie toys, happy children who all do well and a successful marriage. It is not about a prosperous career with advancement and a comfortable retirement. While there is nothing wrong with any of these, I believe these kinds of things are subordinated to an agenda of God that has a much higher - and loftier priority. It is pursuing that higher priority that God has allowed suffering in our lost and fallen world to continue.
While mankind carries on in his sin and rebellion, estranged from God and facing a certain judgment of eternity in hell, one of the ways God draws us to him is by allowing suffering, illness and infirmity to get us off our duffs to seek deliverance from him.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"
This is the cry of the ten men who had leprosy. In their distress they called out to Jesus to be delivered from their pain and misery.
The gospels are filled with accounts of people in pain, misery, illness, bereavement and infirmity of one kind or another. In chapter 4 we read of Peter's mother-in-law suffering from a high fever. Later in that chapter we read of many who were brought to him who had "various kinds of sickness" and demons. In chapter 5 we read of another man with leprosy and a paralytic. A centurion had a sick servant about to die in chapter 7. In chapter 8 we read of Jairus, a ruler of a synagogue who had a twelve year old daughter dying. In that same chapter we read of a woman who had been "subject to bleeding for twelve years". In chapter 9 the account of a man who had a son with an "evil spirit". This is just a small sampling of the many accounts we read of.
What we find of these accounts is that life then is much like it is today. People suffer. They suffer in a myriad of ways. Why is it there is so much suffering that causes people to cry out for relief and deliverance? If Jesus loves us so, if God loves us so, why not just heal everyone of all their pain, misery, infirmities, sickness and suffering? While Jesus demonstrated his empathy, kindness and love for us by providing relief in these accounts, there must have been multitudes the world over that continued in their suffering.
I am certain part of the answer to that is revealed in all the accounts I cited above. In every case these folks sought out the Lord for deliverance from their misery and suffering. It is precisely that suffering that drove them to seek him. While possibly not everyone may need that urgency to seek the Lord apart from a felt need for deliverance, many, many do. I suspect if I never felt the need for help myself, the Lord might be far from mind.
Paul makes an interesting comment in Romans 8:20-21, "The creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." In God's great love for us, he has allowed things into our lives that drive us to him. His purpose is that we seek him, reach out for him and embrace him in faith. The felt need for deliverance of any kind often drives us right into his arms.
While so many measure the love of God by their many blessings in this life (and rightly so), it is not our happiness in a fulfilling life, absent challenges and hardships, and full of the pleasures and comfort we might seek for ourselves here that is God's agenda for us in this life. This life has one chief primary purpose - to populate God's kingdom. We might view this life as a "birthing room" where folks come into life and then are born again into God's kingdom. We are here to enter into his family and facilitate as many others as possible through the propagation of the gospel.
I do not believe life is all about a college education, a home in the suburbs filled with techie toys, happy children who all do well and a successful marriage. It is not about a prosperous career with advancement and a comfortable retirement. While there is nothing wrong with any of these, I believe these kinds of things are subordinated to an agenda of God that has a much higher - and loftier priority. It is pursuing that higher priority that God has allowed suffering in our lost and fallen world to continue.
While mankind carries on in his sin and rebellion, estranged from God and facing a certain judgment of eternity in hell, one of the ways God draws us to him is by allowing suffering, illness and infirmity to get us off our duffs to seek deliverance from him.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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