Mark 1:30-31 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
People often ask me who is going to heaven and who isn't. I reply that it is the wrong question to be asking. One that Jesus really doesn't concentrate on during his ministry. Despite what our modern American culture has made Christianity into, our faith is not about getting us a ticket to heaven - it is about serving Jesus (and others!) now and for eternity.
In the early church, when the believers encounter someone - they never ever ever ask, "if you died tonight, would you go to heaven?" It is an irrelevant question. One you will not find in scripture. Instead, they ask, "Have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit?" "Are you a servant of Jesus?" Paul teaches that it is when we profess our desire to serve Jesus that it is then that we are baptized with the Holy Spirit. Being baptized with the Spirit is how we are able to serve Jesus. "Have you been baptized with the Spirit?" This is the same question as "Are you a servant of Jesus?' This is the right evangelical question to ask. Jesus didn't come to pass out tickets to heaven, he came to baptize us with the Spirit (Mark 1:8) so that we could be his servants. And by serving him, we serve others too.
In this little two sentence story about Simon Peter's mother-in-law, we see how Jesus works. Simon's mother-in-law is sick. She may even be too sick to know how bad off she is. Either way, like all of us, she is broken. Her family and friends tell Jesus about her. Have you ever prayed for someone who is sick - spiritually or physically? Then you have told Jesus about them too! Is there someone you should be telling Jesus about even now?
Well, after hearing about her, Jesus goes to her, takes her hand, and heals her. She doesn't do anything to deserve it. She doesn't even ask for it. She just accepts it - says thank you - and begins to serve "them".
If you are serving Jesus, it is because he has healed you and baptized you with his Spirit. If you aren't serving him, then accept his healing power, say thank you, be filled with his Spirit, and begin to serve him and others just like Peter's mother-in-law did!
Do we ignore that Jesus heals us to serve him and others?
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