Blazingly Alive

Reading: Matthew 15; Psalm 14 30 They came, tons of them, bringing along the paraplegic, the blind, the maimed, the mute—all sorts of people in need—and more or less threw them down at Jesus’ feet to see what he would do with them. He healed them. 31 When the people saw the mutes speaking, the maimed healthy, the paraplegics walking around, the blind looking around, they were astonished and let everyone know that God was blazingly alive among them. (Matthew 15:30-31 MSG) When the people of the villages around Lake Galilee became aware that God’s power to help and to heal was available through Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, they flocked to him. Those that could move under their own power ran, walked, or crawled to get to Jesus. As for those who couldn’t move themselves, friends or family brought them to Jesus and dropped them off to see what he would do. He healed them! When the people saw the evidence of God’s power and God’s care, they got the word out that God was blazingly alive among them! I wonder what kind of demonstration of God’s power and God’s care it would take here in my hometown, Bend, Oregon, to make people aware that God is blazingly alive among us. I think it would take more than bumper stickers and “Christian” T-shirts. I think it would take more than Christian radio and TV. I think it would take more than exciting church services – not everyone attends church anyhow. What do you think would do it? Would it take acts of compassion and generosity toward the poor and helpless? Would it take healthy marriages and families? Would it take transformed lives of people bound by addictions? Would it take demonstrations of God’s power over incurable illnesses? Is it too much to think about, to hope for, to pray towards – that there could be such a demonstration of God’s care and God’s power that everyone would know that God is blazingly alive among us – among them? Prayer: Father, So often when I read these things in the Bible, I read with a kind of “..that was then, this is now…” disclaimer. Would you once again demonstrate your care and your power in the lives of helpless people, so that everyone will know that God is blazingly alive among them? What would it take? What should we do? May it be so. Amen.