Just Believe

 "While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. 'Your daughter is dead,' they said. 'Why bother the Teacher anymore?'  Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him (Jairus), 'Don't be afraid; just believe.'" 

    While shopping recently, I saw a decorative sign that said, "Just Believe," and I wondered in what do they want me to believe? 

    Faith is of value only when the object of that faith is trustworthy and true. If I sit down in a broken chair, even though I had all the faith I could muster placed in that chair, when it breaks beneath me, all my faith was for naught. The fault lay not with my level of faith, but in the compromised chair. 

    Put yourself in the sandals of Jairus here. When he had seen Jesus, he fell at his feet pleading for his daughter's life: "My little daughter is dying. Please come put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." (Mark 5:23) 

    When word came that his beloved child had died, had her father just sat down in a broken chair, so to speak, which splintered beneath the burden?

    Look what Jesus was asking him to believe! Hadn't Death had the final say? Hadn't the curtains been drawn as the girl's soul had left her body? What hope had Jairus now?

    Imagine the tear-filled eyes of the anguished dad meeting the steady gaze of the Savior. Perhaps Jesus gripped Jairus by the shoulders, lending His strength to the grieving man. "Don't be afraid; just believe!" 

    Now imagine the astonished parents who witnessed the resurrection of their dead daughter! Indeed, just as Jairus had believed, Jesus laid his hands on the girl and she lived.

    How simple it is: Just believe. How simple, yet so wildly complex! If we but have the faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains. (Matthew 17:20)

    Just believe. Jesus asks the same of us today. Over and over again, He implored his listeners, "Believe also in me." Will we be like his very own brothers who did not believe in him? (John 7:5) Or, with the help of God, will we hang our hats with that of Simon Peter who avered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6: 68, 69)

    In what do you believe? The government? Money? Yourself? When you draw your last breath, you have but one hope in this world: Jesus the Christ. Just believe in Him.

"Though you haven't seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1, 8, 9 

An Army of Milkweed

 "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed...Some fell on rocky places where it didn't have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and they withered because they had no root...Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times." Mark 4: 3, 5, 6, 8

    When it comes to gardening, I am a plop-and-hope sort of gardener. So, when I received some milkweed seeds, I sowed them in the front garden next to our butterfly bush without bothering to investigate their lifestyle. Visions of grateful butterflies flocking to our yard filled my daydreams as I anxiously awaited results. 

    Fast-forward one year, when those pesky plants have so prolifically suffocated all else in that garden, and witness my daydreams turning into a nightmare. The hale and hearty stalks resemble a troop of Union soldiers marching against the Old South - always more and more of them in rank and file. 

    Though I have furiously dug them up by their roots, those telltale green shoots persevere regardless, so I have been spraying them with RoundUp. Even so, they do not surrender!

    After reading the Parable of the Sower, I have come to view my milkweed army in a different light. After all, I planted them in good soil where their root system took hold like an underground bunker; they are only doing what God created them to do. At my hands, they have tolerated my unloving behavior, suffered persecution at the tip of my shovel and even survived the lethal spray of weed killer. 

    As a Christian, I should follow their example, especially considering the waves of persecution which can be seen on the global horizon. Am I firmly rooted and grounded in Christ alone, built up and strengthened in the faith? Or will I wither at the first sign of heat? Do I boast in the glory of my resurrected Savior in hopes of winning souls for Christ, thereby producing a multiplying crop? Or have I permitted thorns and briars to choke my efforts?

    Maybe I will wave the white flag and just learn to appreciate the perseverance of the milkweed. They have the right idea after all.

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him." James 1:12  

     

Humpty Dumpty

"When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, because she thought, 'If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering." Mark 5: 27-29

    On Saturday, my sisters and I attended a craft fair on the grounds of a splendid historical home in Kent, Ohio. While browsing about, I came across a booth whose moniker caught my attention so I paused to speak to the artisan. 

    "Why is your business called "The Broken Rabbit?" I inquired of the man who crafted pottery. 

    "Because," he explained with a half smile, "I am the rabbit and I am broken."

    Though he didn't expound upon the reason behind his condition, I ruefully agreed that we indeed live in a broken world and the only cure for us is Jesus. 

    In hindsight, I should have shared the verses from Isaiah which speak of our Lord God being the Potter while we are his clay, the workmanship of his divine hands, but it didn't come to mind in time. I did, however, buy a wee work of his as a reminder to pray for him.

    Before walking to the park the following day, I donned my ballcap that bears an embroidered cross. As I wended my way 'round the pond, a dogwalker commented, "I like your hat." I asked him if he knew Jesus, and his glowing countenance provided the answer. At my coaxing, he shared a bit of his testimony which involved a downward spiral to a rock-bottom resignation. 

    While he was at this nadir in his life, a pastor asked him, "Are you ready to invite Jesus into your life?" And like the woman in the verses above, when he reached out to Christ in faith, he was healed.

    As I pondered the two broken men, the words of Humpty Dumpty came to mind: All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put him back together again. From a mother's kiss to a psychiatrist's couch, we find through trial and error that only the One who made the vessel is truly able to make the repairs. And the Potter doesn't just fix the cracks, He creates a new work. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17) 

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3

Hard Boiled

 "Blessed is the one who heeds wisdom's instruction." Proverbs 29:18

    I thought I knew how to boil eggs, but the last time I did, it became clear that I had not mastered the task. Somewhere along the line, I had gotten off track.

    With my niece expected for lunch today, I desired hard boiled eggs to complement my salad fixings so I decided to consult my cookbook, and guess what? Because I followed the directions, the eggs came out beautifully. They were perfectly cooked and even peeled well.

    As I removed the shells over the sink, I thought about all the times in my life when I thought I knew what I was doing, but in all actuality, I ran pell-mell into folly. 

    If I had only consulted the Bible, all the wisdom and knowledge of God could have been found within its pages thereby saving me (and those affected by my folly) from a peck of trouble. I need to quit being so hard boiled and soften my heart to receive God's instructions. 

"Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord." Proverbs 16:20