Set Your Hearts On Love

1/28/2021

From Rev Sue Ann Yarbrough

Hello Everyone,
Blessed assurance to each of you as we journey into February. You are in our prayers. If there is a specific prayer you want us to hold, please drop me a note or give me a call.

Those of you who are familiar with the hymn, "Blessed Assurance" will see that I changed the word blood to love. As biblical translations evolve, hymn lyrics also change over the decades. I believe Fanny Crosby would understand that these are trying times. Let us set our hearts on love. There we can find the assurance that we need.

Man with a skin disease. Photo by Rojan Maguyon from Pexels.

Scripture: Luke 5:12-13, Common English Bible
Jesus was in one of the towns where there was also a man covered with a skin disease. When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged, “Lord, if you want, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do want to. Be clean.” Instantly, the skin disease left him.

Meditation
I find this short passage moving. Jesus does not appear to assume he knows what is best for this man, but rather he seems to be waiting for the man with the skin disease to approach him. That is exactly what the man does. I find the man very polite, although the scripture does say he begged, "Lord, if you want, you can make me clean." Jesus responds positively, saying "I do want to." The way was made clear, and the man was healed. As he did so often, Jesus asked the man to please not tell anyone. Can you imagine how thrilled the man must have been to hear Jesus saying yes? To hear Jesus' assurance that he wanted to heal him?

Healing is always available to us. It may not appear in the way we are envisioning, but Jesus is always offering us wholeness - to be fully who we are in the body we have. Some years ago, I was talking to a man who shrugged his shoulders and said he did not have to worry about healing anyone since he was not Jesus. It is true that few of us have Jesus' healing touch.

However, we know there is healing in hearing the word yes. That healing can be experienced when we befriend one another, greet one another, and offer to help one another. When we acknowledge one another. When we hear someone asking for assistance, we can usually respond with a yes. Let us remember that we experience Christ in our relationships. Certainly there are times when a no is an appropriate response. Let us remember that in Matthew 5:37 Jesus encourages us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. However, let us be prudent with those times when we respond with a no. Let us affirm and assure one another with a yes whenever we possibly can.

Prayer
As I was writing this, I kept hearing the wonderful old hymn, "Blessed Assurance". I include the first verse and refrain here.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his love.

This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

Words by Fanny Crosby, 1873
Music by Phoebe P. Knapp, 1873