Today's Dev is by JACKIE BARKER, Assistant Minister at Emmanuel Presby Pretoria.
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She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
"Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."
But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."
Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace." Luke8:44-48
Jesus is on his way to see the daughter of Jarius, a leader of the synagogue as the little one is dying. As they go, the crowds press around him, eager to see what will happen, eager to not be left out of the action. But there is one woman in the crowd with a very different agenda. Having been struggling with bleeding for twelve years, she is at her wits end. No medical cure has helped and in the culture this means she would have been unclean. (Lev 15:25-31)
Unclean for twelve years.
Not allowed to be touched by another person.
Not allowed near the temple.
Unclean.
Excluded.
Alone.
Desperate.
Too humiliated to ask for healing, to ashamed to make a spectacle, she quietly follows Jesus, she dares to believe, and she touches him.
And she is healed.
But the story isn't over!
Jesus knows!
He knows the journey of the last twelve years. He knows the shame and exclusion. He knows the brokenness not just of body but of soul -- and so he stops.
"Who touched me?"
She had been felt.
She has been noticed.
And because of this she has been reached and healed and made whole.
Jesus stopping to acknowledge her allows her to be recognised and accepted back into society as clean. He heals not just the physical, but the spiritual, emotional and social brokenness around her.
Service can be as simple as noticing someone. Including someone. Acknowledging the beauty and the brokenness of each person that you meet.
Jesus uses the opportunity of a physical healing to heal the whole person.
Are there opportunities that we can use to extend grace and healing to those around us?
Are there opportunities that Jesus grace can flow through us, touching those in our families, in our work place, in the schools our kids attend? Could a kind word or a bit of patience, a thank you letter or a phone call heal a piece of someone's soul?
Be open to the Spirit today to hear him prompt you. Be aware of the lives that touch yours today and allow Jesus to do his work.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
