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Oct 03, 2022 18:30pm

How Far Would You Go?

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When Dorothy lands in Oz, she somehow also manages to land herself right in the middle of a big mess. Her house, though out of her control and thanks to a tornado, lands on top of the wicked witch of the East. As Glinda arrives and fills her in, Dorothy learns there is a sister to this witch, the wicked witch of the west, and she’s worse than the other one was. In that moment, Dorothy must have been terrified. She was desperate for help, but who could she turn to? Glinda had powers, but for some reason she could not fix the situation at hand. She then tells her of a Wizard who could help, but it’s a long journey. Along the way, she finds more people in need of help, and suggests the Wizard could help them with their issues too, so they join her in this long journey to find him, believing that he could help them.

Yes, I know, it’s just a silly fairy tale, but stick with me here.

“And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.” (Matthew 15:29-31)

What struck me most in this passage was the fact that Jesus went up into a mountain. Why there? Why not just set up a nice little camp close to the people and heal them there? These were people who were lame, blind, deaf, and sick. Shouldn’t Jesus have been concerned about them having to go to such great lengths to be healed?

Exactly.

How far would you go to be healed? How far would you travel to see your child or mother walk or see for the first time? It wasn’t the journey that healed them, it was their faith. They heard of Jesus and that He was on the mountain. The moment they took that first step to go to Him, they were on a quest for hope. But what they didn’t realize was the faith that was growing inside them. Why else would they go to that mountain unless they believed He could heal them? In fact, they believed so much that they told others along their way. It says a multitude came.

And it says they marveled at Him when they saw the miracles happen. I can’t imagine seeing it for my own eyes either. Jesus was the Messiah, the healer, the One whom they had heard about their whole lives, and their faith in those things brought them to the mountain, believing in Him to save them.

Do you believe? How far will you go to be saved? Would you give up everything you have?

Read His word and you, too, will marvel at His incredible power and love for you! And take that first step in faith, believing that He can save you.