Skip to main content

Saved to Serve

                 I am the type of person that looks for patterns in everything.  I see pictures in the clouds (“Ooh, that looks like a monkey in a top hat”) and I often see faces in trees.  It should be no surprise, then, that when I approach the Bible, I look for patterns. 
                One of the benefits of looking for scriptural patterns is that it allows us to learn from passages that we would overlook otherwise.  Mark 1:29-31 is a good example.  It says, “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them”.   It would be easy to read this passage and never really think about it, but there is a pattern contained within it that we must understand.
                The first thing to notice is that wherever Jesus goes, he brings healing.  In this case, it was a physical healing.  In other cases, it was a spiritual healing from things like demon possession, guilt, fear and, ultimately, sin.  This should not surprise us as Jesus himself said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Luke 4:18-19).  Where Jesus is, healing takes place.
                The second pattern to notice is that we are healed so that we can serve.  Immediately after being made well, Peter’s mother-in-law starts helping others.  We are not saved to sit.  We are not made to be consumers.  Those who have been saved are to help save others.  When we miss this part of the pattern, the church becomes selfish, weak and, eventually, useless.
                One must be careful with “pattern theology”.  Not every example is worth following.  However, when you see a pattern starting to form, it is time to pay attention.  Like Jesus, we can bring healing by making things better wherever we go and like Peter’s mother-in-law we can knowledge our blessings by blessing others.
                That is a pattern worth repeating.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: A Path Worth Following

  Jehoram was a terrible king.  He reigned in Judah around the year 850 B.C. and he did not care about God or his people.  His first act as king was to assassinate his six brothers so that no one could challenge his authority.  He was brutal and selfish.   Therefore, when the Bible sums up his life, it says, “Jehoram… passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David” (2 Chronicles 21:20).  Did you catch that?  “To no one’s regret!”  What a terrible phrase for your tombstone. On the other hand, consider a lady named Tabitha.  She lived in the city of Joppa in the first century A.D. and we are told, “… she was always doing good and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36).  She became sick and died.  This caused the community so much grief that they called Peter, who was in the nearby town of Lydda, to come and help them.  When Peter arrived, a crowd gathered, bringing all the robes and other clothing that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This.... Which Way Are You Leaning?

   When Ben Patterson agreed to join three friends climbing Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park, he did not realize what he was signing up for.  Early in the day, it became clear that he was completely unprepared for the task.  In an effort to keep up with his more experienced friends, Ben took a shortcut.  It did not occur to him that there might be a reason the others had not selected this route, but he soon found out why.  Ben became stuck on the glacier.  He could not move up, down or sideways and one wrong move would send him sliding down a forty-five-degree slope to the valley floor miles below.   That is when one of his friends came to the rescue. His buddy leaned over the edge and carved some footholds in the ice.  He told Ben to step to the first foothold and immediately swing his other foot to the second, then his buddy would pull him to safety.  Lastly, his friend gave him one more piece of advice....
Post a Comment
Read more