14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” [21] (“This kind can come out only by prayer.”)
My goodness! The poor guy was only doing what any loving father would do. He was asking God to heal his son. Should he say “sorry I asked”? Should he creep away humiliated?
Or, was Jesus speaking to the whole crowd…or even the disciples when he said “you unbelieving and perverse generation”?
“How long will I put up with you?” In Minnesota we call this “treading on thin ice”.
How can I possibly be “bold” when I hear Jesus talk this way…to me?
I was thinking he reserved this kind of talk for the Pharisees…but, if I’m brutally honest, he’s talked to me that way a few times. I’ve heard it in my spirit.
At any rate, Jesus healed the boy…which brings a number of thoughts to mind:
1. Anytime we humans approach God we need to be wary…since our humanity generally prevents us from clearly understanding the mind of God. When the true mind of God reveals itself we may be surprised. A great deal of humility and deference would be in order. In other words, presuming our desires harmonize with God’s intent might be…well, too “presumptive”. And, of course, God will let us know.
2. Failing to fully know the “mind of God” is not a sin. It’s part of the human condition. So, it doesn’t make us guilty…or unworthy of receiving something from God. Though, it does make us vulnerable to confusion and disappointment.
3. The mind of God is not the same as the heart of God. This does not mean the two are in conflict. It simply means they have different perspectives. This distinction is what allows us as parents to intellectually recognize the immaturity of our child’s request while granting it anyway. It’s what the heart does. The two are a perfect blend of mom and dad…in the best sense.
4. We can always count on God to do “the right thing”. Since God’s holiness infers his response will always be correct, our presumption (or, immaturity) will not deter God from doing the “right thing” no matter what…because that’s what it means to be God. In this case, “the right thing” was to heal the boy.
5. What do we do when the boy isn’t healed? Usually we intone some worn out mantra like “God always answers:”Yes, No or Later”. As though he can’t quite decide. Or are we able to say “Obviously, my desire wasn’t the right thing?”
6. I hesitate to say this, but the wild card here is faith. It seems the thing that touches God’s heart more than anything is faith. So, when God’s mind says “no” and his heart says “yes” faith will always win the day. Unfortunately, it’s human nature to simply pursue more faith…as though it’s a commodity…and use it as a measure to judge (and compare) the richness of other people’s lives against our own. Faith doesn’t function that way. It exists in our lives as a gift. It matures through the constant nurture of the Holy Spirit. It’s almost like an independent organism living within us. As an analogy, I can’t be more (or less) Norwegian. I am what my parents endowed me to be. Neither can I manufacture more faith. But, I can allow the Holy Spirit to mature the faith that resides in me. In my mind, this is why we are often surprised by God…we didn’t know we had that much (or that little) faith in us.
So, when we are encouraged to “come boldly before the throne of grace” the boldness derives from our willingness to receive “the right thing”. Only then can we truly be satisfied with God. Of course, this is all very good. After all, do I want the best my human heart and mind can come up with? Or do I want the best God’s perfect heart and mind can provide?
I’ve seen my best…its dubious.
Live boldly out there today…
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