I joke with Ryan sometimes about going to what I affectionately call “crazy
town.” Sometimes these topics send me there just thinking about them! We laugh about my varying degrees of
visitation there…am I renting a room for a few nights or building my own
condo? Should I hire a decorator for my
new place in crazy town? But in all seriousness, the events at the Boston
marathon yesterday got my wheels cranking.
And you know, I just can’t rest them until I write!
The bleeding woman. I can't wait to meet her in heaven! I really
want to know what she felt like after Jesus said these words to her found in
Mark 5:34, “Daughter, your faith has healed
you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” What did it
feel like to look into the eyes of God and find compassion and mercy in a world
where she was oppressed by judgment and criticism? Trapped in her broken physical
body and bound by chains of isolation, this woman was beyond desperate.
If you are not familiar with Old Testament Law, her bleeding condition made
her unclean in the eyes of God and her people. According to Leviticus 15:25-30,
anything this woman touched was considered unclean, and anyone who touched her was considered unclean. For twelve years, this woman had not been to
the temple or been touched by another human being. I’m a girl who needs to be
in church for a lot of reasons. I’m also a big hugger…no church, no
girlfriends, no hugs for twelve years?
NO WAY! I can’t begin to unpack
this story in a blog, it could be a lengthy sermon series in any church. The point is, yes he healed her physical
situation, but even more significant is the fact that he restored her spiritually
to himself and to her community.
I know, in my circumstance, it’s difficult to wrap my mind around anything
that would be more amazing than seeing Abbey running around and chatting-me-up
like a typical eleven year old girl. But her body, and this life, is not the
end-all for her or for me! James 4:14
reminds us of our life’s timeline with words that are all too familiar for
anyone touched by tragedy or loss, “Why, you do not even know what will happen
tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and
then vanishes.”
If that makes you sad…I challenge you to dig a little deeper into the quiet
spaces of your soul and ask yourself why?
Why should you be sad that our lives on earth are just a tiny fragment
of a speck of time compared to eternity?
Don’t you see the great hope? Do
you hear God whispering to you, that if you belong to Him (BELONG…not if you’re
a good person, not if you’re a great person, if you BELONG to Him) that the
glories of heaven will unfold themselves more magnificently before you than the
most beautiful scene you’ve ever witnessed on earth? Greater than the thrill of crossing a finish
line after miles of physical exertion, greater than landing the biggest account
your company has ever had, greater than the birth of your first child, is
knowing the one who holds the future in His hands and being fully restored to
Him. He who stretched out the heavens
and marked its dimensions in space, who keeps storehouses of snow, and wove the
fabric of your DNA together in your mother’s womb loves you intimately
and wants you to know and love Him intimately. There is great peace in
knowing that healing in this life and these bodies is simply incomparable to
spiritual wholeness and rightness before a Holy God. Christ’s work on the cross was meant to give
life. He came for the spiritually sick
and broken. His healing hand upon the weary and disabled was meant to give just
a glimpse of his mighty power that could, and would, defeat death once and for
all!
When I really began to understand it, this woman’s story went from making me
feel sad to giving me hope and peace about our situation. Of course I yearn for Abbey to be fully
healed. But, I’m so, so
grateful that he has a different kind of healing in mind for her and for all
who call Him Lord and Master of their life. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can
compare to this greater healing.
I
love to peak at The Message from time
to time. Listen to Peterson’s explanation
of 2 Corinthians 5:1-5. “For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours
are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by
resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we’ll never have to
relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry
out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here
seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been
given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The
Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts
a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.”
I
was driving Jayden home from school the other day and out of the blue he asks
me what our bodies will look like in heaven.
I wanted to say, “Well, mine will be smokin’ hot!” haha!!! But, since
that was completely inappropriate, I
managed to come up with, “I don’t know buddy…but the Bible says they will be
perfect.” To which he replied, “Man….I
can’t wait to see Abbey’s new body in heaven.” Me either Jay, me either.
