Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Be Open


God is serious when it comes to the illumination of His Word. We see a great example of this in Mark 7:31-35: Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

A number of great things are happening here.
1. Jesus is intimately involved with the care and healing of this man. There is no doubt where the healing came from.
2. Jesus tells where to look for help (looked to heaven).
3 Jesus sighed. He had compassion and empathy for this man and His human condition.
4. Jesus said the word “Ephphatha” which is from another language, but one the man could understand, and was healed.

How are we impacted when Jesus says to us, Ephphatha?

Maybe we need to be open to doing things His way and not our own. To have open ears to what He wants us to hear. Open minds to give us His wisdom. Open eyes to see His illumination of the Word in our lives.

Be wise today and always – Ephphatha.