Thursday, February 8, 2007
Mark 5:39-40 "The child is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.
HE PUT THEM OUT
When Jesus suggested that the daughter of Jairus could be awakened, the skeptics in the room ridiculed him. Didn't Jesus know death when he saw it? Jesus reacted by forcefully removing these doubters from the scene. He did not politely ask them to leave. He put them out. The loving Lord would not let them interfere a moment longer with the growing faith of His friend Jarius.
He does the same for us. When Hollywood, the atheist professor, or skeptical friend causes you to question the Bible's promise of resurrection and eternal life for God's children, your Savior comes to you forcefully through His Word.
When the skeptics tear into your faith, Jesus throws their deceit out of your heart, saying: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies" (John 11:25). When brokenhearted Jairus looked upon the cold lifeless form of his daughter, Jesus said: "Little girl, I say to you, arise."
A blindfolded girl at a birthday party was trying to break apart a pinata. Of course, everyone in the room was screaming directions at her. Most of them, however, were giving her wrong directions, telling her to go anywhere but toward the pinata. But despite the bad advice, she was making steady progress in the right direction. How did she do it? Well, her best friend had told her beforehand to listen for her voice, promising that she would tell her the right way. By blocking out the loud chorus of the other voices, and by tuning into the voice of her friend, she was able to find her way to her goal.
As we make our way to our eternal goal, the Holy Spirit helps us tune out the many skeptical voices that would lead us astray, while tuning us into the One voice that leads to Life -- the voice of Jesus our Good Shepherd, Who speaks to us in His Holy Word, the Bible!
