Mark 1:45
Have
you ever thought about a decision you made and wonder what would have happened
if you had made a different choice? It is amazing the way our minds work. We
have the ability to run multiple scenarios in our minds and guess what would
have happened. Sometimes this leads to regrets, and sometimes we are satisfied
with our original decision.
Jesus
healed a man with an incurable skin disease and sternly warned him not to tell
anyone about what had happened. He was supposed to go and fulfill the Law’s
obligations as a testimony to the religious leaders that the LORD was again
active and present here on earth. But he disobeys!
This
man becomes a megaphone, telling everyone about what Jesus did for him. I can’t
blame the man. If I were in his shoes, I would probably do the same thing. I
would be so excited to have my life back, that I would bubble over with joy and
tell everyone I could. This kind of miracle can change a life.
But
miracles are not necessarily game changers. As we read the Scriptures, many
people who witnessed Jesus’ miracles did not change. There might have been a
temporary shift, but after a little while, they dropped back into their rut.
Miracles in themselves don’t necessarily change people. It is our response to
those miracles and the choices we continue to make after them that make for
permanent change. Altar calls are not enough. Decisions must be lived out
daily.
I
wonder what would have happened if this man had obeyed. We read that it changed
Jesus’ ministry location significantly. Because of this man’s words the crowds were
too great for Jesus to enter the towns. He instead had to minister in
unpopulated areas, away from the crowds. But this change in venue didn’t seem
to change the size of the crowds. People traveled to be in Jesus’ presence, to
hear Him teach, and perhaps even be touched by His miraculous power.
Does
location make that much of a difference? Can God’s will be done everywhere? Or
perhaps a more intriguing question, can we mess up God’s will? Can we contain
Niagara Falls in a coffee cup? Can we make someone love us? Can we count the
grains of sand along the world’s beaches? God’s will is unstoppable. Venue
might change. Mouthpiece might change, But His message will go forth. His glory
will be known in all the earth.