Yesterday at STORYCHURCH we talked about a story from Luke 8:40-48. It's a story about how Jesus healed a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. For 12 years she had been ceremonially unclean, which meant pretty much no human contact for the entire time. Can you imagine that?
I thought that maybe it was worth repeating here, so here are the highlights:
In a crowd of many, Jesus notices the one.
1. Jesus notices the one because He isn't in a hurry.
- The fact is that even while on his way to an emergency healing of someone else, Jesus has time for the woman in Luke 8. One of the things we pointed out yesterday was how often we may completely miss an opportunity that God has put in front of us to notice someone on the fringes. And many times, it's simply because we're too busy or in too much of a hurry to do something else.
2. Jesus notices the one because He is sensitive to those who reach out in desperate faith.
- While the crowd was pushing in on him to the point that Luke tells us it almost crushed him, Jesus asks "who touched me?" Lots of people were touching Him, and yet He noticed the touch of the woman who needed Him most. I wonder if we sometimes miss what is right in front of us because we just aren't sensitive to someone's desperate reach. What about when someone asks you about your church, or that STORYCHURCH bumper sticker on your car? What about when your coworker suddenly goes to another level with you by sharing about a personal struggle? What if we began to see the question beneath the question? What if we were alert to those who were hurting and looking for answers? How would that change our interactions with people?
3. Jesus notices the one because He values her story.
- We've all got a story. Yours may be exciting, or maybe it's boring. But it's your story. And if you've been transformed by Jesus then you need to tell that story. For this woman that Jesus healed, she had been relegated to the fringes of society for 12 years. And here in this moment, Jesus puts all the attention of the crowd on her so that she has an opportunity to tell her story. Do we value the people around us as stories of restoration and forgiveness? Do we long to see and hear those stories played out? What about your story? Are you happy to just hide in the crowd or will you allow Jesus to give your story a voice? Maybe your story is exactly what someone else needs to hear today.
In the end, I felt like God was challenging us with two specific action steps this week.
First, we committed to notice the one this week. To slow down enough to notice those who are hurting, and to be sensitive to the question beneath the question.
Secondly, we committed to share our story at least one time this week. For those who go to STORYCHURCH, we're willing to help give your story a voice. On our website we would encourage you to click the link that says "Share My Story". If you'll do that there, then we will help to spread your story and maybe connect it with those who need to hear it most.
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