Father and Son
There are many modern miracles which we've been sharing here on The Miracle Blog, but of course there are many recorded in the Bible as well. One of my favorites is from Mark 9:17-27.
17A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
19“You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22“It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23“ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
25When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
I love this story not only because it is another of the examples of Jesus's pity on and caring for us as individuals, but also because I've felt just like the father.
He loved his son and wanted him so badly to be healed that he took him and found Jesus and his disciples. This was probably what amounted to a last ditch, abnormal effort in those times. At that point he'd probably already exhausted all the other possibilities like physicians, healers, and priests.
His words of appeal to Jesus are so honest. When Jesus basically tells him that belief is a key to miraculous healing, he immediately and fervently replies, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
I would guess that many of us feel exactly like this in crisis. We believe in God and His unlimited power. We are willing to ask for help, but we don't always believe it will or can actually happen for us. Yet Jesus reassures us, "Everything is possible for one who believes."
The father then asks for help not only for his son, but for himself. He says, "...help me overcome my unbelief."
I think maybe like this father, we need to ask God for help in overcoming our unbelief, in strengthening our belief. We can take reassurance from God's promises, from the eyewitness accounts of miracles in the Bible, and from our brothers and sisters who have experienced them today and share their stories. Then as Jesus reminds us, everything and anything is possible.
Comments
Post a Comment