How Far Does Jesus Have To Travel To Work A Miracle In The Church Today?

In Luke 4:18-27, Jesus tries to do a little outreach in his hometown of Nazareth. It's safe to say there was no "standing O", or demands for an encore. Reading the passage, you can imagine a flutter rippling through the crowd as the people whispered from ear to ear, "Isn't this Joseph's son?" Throats are cleared in embarrassment. Nervous glances are shared. Didn't we see him running through the streets in his diapers? Now he is claiming to be the Messiah spoken of in Isaiah? Seriously? Because of this, he could not do many miracles because of their unbelief.

Jesus, ever mining the heart for any glint of faith's gold, rebukes them for their unbelief.  He wants them to have so much more. To illustrate how their unbelief is robbing them, he pauses and gives a little history lesson. Elijah was a prophet who also was unable to perform any miracles in Israel. To work a miracle, he had to travel to another nation where he miraculously provided for a widow, and healed a leper named Naaman. The tragedy of this story, according to Jesus, is that there were widows and lepers in Israel, but none were healed due to unbelief.

I believe that we can also lack discernment about who Jesus is and what he has done for us. The Jews said, "Isn't this Joseph's son?" But we may say, "Isn't that the man who died on the cross and gets me to heaven?" And we go about our day seeking nothing of him.  We sometimes sit in churches that have a form of God but deny His power.

I wonder if we can be like the Israelites. I wonder, how far does Jesus have to travel to work a miracle in the church today? I have tasted some of his divine power, and I am grateful beyond words. It has caused my heart to burn with a passion to experience all the God gave us in the cross. It cost Him everything. His love astounds me. Paul prayed that God would give us a revelation of our glorious inheritance in Him. The Spirit is here to reveal it.

In studying this passage, I looked up the meaning of the word Naaman, the leper in Syria that was cleansed. It is so awesome! Naaman means "pleasant, agreeable, grace, sweet, splendor, beauty". The Leper was full of sweetness and grace. He tasted sweetness and grace. Judging from Jesus's reaction to those with faith in Him, God was deeply pleased by Naaman's faith. He was full of beauty and grace.

I believe that God wants to heal the sick and provide miraculously for us.  He wants to reveal His glory so that we might believe on Him. We often lack faith because we don't know who Jesus really is and what he has done for us. But we don't like to be "rebuked." Our tendency is to defend ourselves lest we be found lacking in some area. But condemnation comes from us, not God.  He always receives us in our weakness.  My prayer of late has been this: Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief! I don't want You to have to travel far to do a marvelous work.

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