Text: Luke 4:38-39
After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them. (NRSV)
First, Peter was married?! I have to tell you, I never pictured that until rereading this verse. Besides my surprise about Peter’s marital status, this verse has me thinking about what it means when we are healed.
The first thing that jumps out at me, is that after Peter’s mother-in-law is healed, she jumps up and begins to serve Jesus and the disciples. For the point I want to make, I have to take off my modern cultural “glasses” if you will and think about a more appropriate understanding of the culture of Jesus’ day. I mean, if I had asked my mom to serve all my friends when I came home as an adult, she would have said something like, “What, are your arms broken?”. But in Jesus’ day, the role of women serving the men was a societal norm.
So, thinking about that, what I see in this event is that when we are healed, we are able to function within the expectations we have for ourselves. God’s healing allows me to be who God has called me to be.
This goes far beyond our physical bodies; this includes our spiritual healing as well. When God heals my spirit, I can begin to function in the way that God had originally intended me to function when he breathed the spirit of life into my body. I can have a healthy relationship with God.
Through sin, I have damaged my spirit and, with enough sin, my spirit loose all connection to its original intended purpose; I no longer have the ability to choose rightly in God’s eyes. But when I am healed by God, I can jump up like Peter’s mother-in-law and begin to serve God in the way I was designed to serve God.
Has sin so damaged you that you are no longer able to serve God? Do you know that spiritual healing is always available to you through Jesus’ gift of salvation, the forgiveness of sins? If you have received God’s spiritual healing, have you jumped up and begun to serve God with your life?
Pray with me:
God of love and God of healing forgive me from my sin that has damaged my spirit. Heal me with your love through the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. Empower me to live my life to your glory as I serve you in all that I do. AMEN.
After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them. (NRSV)
First, Peter was married?! I have to tell you, I never pictured that until rereading this verse. Besides my surprise about Peter’s marital status, this verse has me thinking about what it means when we are healed.
The first thing that jumps out at me, is that after Peter’s mother-in-law is healed, she jumps up and begins to serve Jesus and the disciples. For the point I want to make, I have to take off my modern cultural “glasses” if you will and think about a more appropriate understanding of the culture of Jesus’ day. I mean, if I had asked my mom to serve all my friends when I came home as an adult, she would have said something like, “What, are your arms broken?”. But in Jesus’ day, the role of women serving the men was a societal norm.
So, thinking about that, what I see in this event is that when we are healed, we are able to function within the expectations we have for ourselves. God’s healing allows me to be who God has called me to be.
This goes far beyond our physical bodies; this includes our spiritual healing as well. When God heals my spirit, I can begin to function in the way that God had originally intended me to function when he breathed the spirit of life into my body. I can have a healthy relationship with God.
Through sin, I have damaged my spirit and, with enough sin, my spirit loose all connection to its original intended purpose; I no longer have the ability to choose rightly in God’s eyes. But when I am healed by God, I can jump up like Peter’s mother-in-law and begin to serve God in the way I was designed to serve God.
Has sin so damaged you that you are no longer able to serve God? Do you know that spiritual healing is always available to you through Jesus’ gift of salvation, the forgiveness of sins? If you have received God’s spiritual healing, have you jumped up and begun to serve God with your life?
Pray with me:
God of love and God of healing forgive me from my sin that has damaged my spirit. Heal me with your love through the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ. Empower me to live my life to your glory as I serve you in all that I do. AMEN.
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