Being Called Out By Jesus - Part 3

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." --Mark 5:30-34 (NIV)

This past week, I came across a devotional written by the late Henri Nouwen titled, "What is Most Personal is Most Universal." In it, Nouwen reminds the reader that living a life connected to God means that what happens in our personal life isn't just meant for us but for others.

The words hit home, especially in light of the wrestling I have been doing with the story of the woman in Mark 5:24-34 (see Being Called Out By Jesus, and Being Called Out By Jesus - Part 2). I said that I have been wrestling, perhaps "puzzling" would be a better description. The story has stayed with me for over a week. As I have read and reread it, I have been asking God for clarity. I have been unable to shake the feeling that there is another connection to be made before I move on.

"What is most personal is most universal." Nouwen's words are the connecting piece of the puzzle. In Mark 5, what the woman meant as a private matter (her health issue and the way she went about being healed), Jesus intended for a larger audience. He used her disease, her suffering, her healing, and her faith, all for the greater good.

I have a lot in common with the woman who reached for Jesus' robe. I have spent years reaching for the robe of my Savior in relative privacy. For me, that time is no more. Jesus has "called me out" and that is why I must write about my faith.

It makes sense now...why He has been so insistent about how I write. Always, there is His voice challenging me to be authentic, willing me to be transparent as I put my struggles and my victories out there for others to see. Not because my life or the way I write about it is so special but because my Jesus is.

It is always about Him.

Abba, I am so blessed to be loved and forgiven by You. Forgive me for the many times I take these truths for granted. Thank You, Jesus, for being my Savior. Thank You, for taking my sins upon yourself and bearing them on the cross that I might live. Grant me the faith and the courage to live my life in a way that brings You glory and honor. In the saving name of Jesus, Amen.