John 4:43-54 Crawling Up The Stairs

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Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death.  Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”  The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”  Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”

This royal official came into contact with the Lord at just the right moment.  The official’s son was cured right at the moment he asked the Lord to heal him.  Coincidence?  I think not. 

There is a Master’s plan in everything the Lord says and does.  Unfortunately, if we don’t understand it (or can’t formulate it), then we call it coincidence or random. 

The whole household came to believe.  When the royal official put two and two together, he and his whole household came to believe.  When the Lord touches the life of one individual, He manages to touch the lives of others as well.

I can barely remember what was wrong with me that day.  I had this immense feeling of hopelessness regarding a particular project of mine.  So, while I was in one of those bad moods, I decided to drive out to the Galleria to do some exercise.  On my way there I made a phone call to a friend of mine.  I’m not sure why I called at that particular moment, but I did.  We got to talking about a lot of things and then the conversation shifted to a recent event in their family’s life.  It turns out that one of their kids wanted to invite a school friend over to the house.  The parent was a little concerned about it because their child’s friend is disabled and gets around in a motorized wheel chair.  I wasn’t sure what all the worries were for so they said to me, “Well, what if this friend wants to see my child’s bedroom on the second floor?  I don’t want them to feel sad about not being able to see it.”  I understood.  This parent called the friend’s mother for advice.  Her answer was shocking:  “As long as you don’t mind my child crawling up the stairs then it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Soon after I heard these words, I got that feeling in my gut that can easily be mistaken as feeling sorry for someone.  I didn’t feel sorry for this little child and her mother.  On the contrary, I was extremely proud of them.  And I wasn’t proud of them for doing something that I could easily do.  I was proud of them because they were refusing to do something I was all too ready to do:  give up!

This child’s story touched me and my story.  This child’s faith inspired me and my life.  This child and her mother have tremendous faith not in themselves, but in God. 

"Thus says the Lord:  Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind.  Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create" (Is 65:17).    

There is no such thing as a “child of a lesser god.”  Only those with little to no faith could come up with such an absurdity.  Only those who have sight could be so blind.  Only those who have ears could be so deaf to these facts.  Only those who can walk could be so lame and weak.    

Resolution:  I will give thanks to the Lord who inspires me, encourages me, saves me and delivers me at just the right moment, after touching the meek and humble of heart.