Faith in your beliefs, or God?

July 1, 2009

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Jairus asks Jesus to heal his daughter; Matthew 9:18-19; Mark 5:22-23; Luke 8:41-42

Mark 5:22-23 BBE 

 22 And one of the rulers of the Synagogue, Jairus by name, came, and seeing him, went down at his feet,

23 And made strong prayers to him, saying, My little daughter is near to death: it is my prayer that you will come and put your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and have life.

Sometimes in reading the Bible we miss some of the small things because we are not familiar with the culture.  So many times we read about how a person bows reverently before another.  It starts in Genesis and happens all through the Bible.  By the time of Jesus however, things had changed.  In earlier years, this had been a sign of respect one to another.  By now it has become a sign of respect for the lower class to the upper.  

So here is Jesus, an preacher who travels from town to town. Coming to Him, the leader of the synagogue, one who, by his title demands respect from the likes of people whom Jesus appeared to be like. This is different however.  Jairus comes to Jesus and bows low to Him.  He knows where the power is in life and he realizes he does not have it.  So even though the leaders are teaming up against Jesus, Jairus knows that the only hope for his daughter lies in the one who he is supposed to speak against.  As we will see in the next few days, He has reason to believe that his faith in Jesus will be misplaced, but for now he goes with his faith. 

So often we are faced with speaking out against things that may be beneficial to us.  So often people say they have no need for God when in fact, that is what they really need.  I am not talking organized religion here.  While there is a need for religious organizations and denominations, too often they get in the way of true faith in God.  Are you letting your beliefs get in the way of your relationship with God?

Read for tomorrow: Ill woman is healed by touching Jesus; Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:24-34; Luke 8:42-48