The Question Nobody Wanted Asked

This past week was a powerful message about God's restoration that I don't believe we often times consider.  We like the idea of God restoring us.  We like the idea of God creating us new.  Do we understand however that often times when we go to Jesus we don't only receive more than we bargained for, but we often times have to give more than we bargained for.  

We are reminded of this in the story of Jairus the synagogue ruler and the woman disease stricken with constant bleeding in Mark chapter 5.  Jairus goes to Jesus to ask for Jesus to come immediately to heal his daughter who is dying.  Jesus begins to follow as a crowd presses in who is determined to see another shock and awe event.  A diseased woman in the crowd seeking healing herself sneaks in and touches Jesus' cloak.  It says instantaneously power like dynamite left Jesus and the woman was healed.  Jesus then becomes the prosecutor asking the question that nobody wanted asked: "Who touched me"?  The woman didn't want asked; she simply wanted to sneak in and sneak out for physical healing.  The disciples didn't want the question asked as they are figuring Jesus helping a prominent religious figure may help get Jesus back on track with a group who is finding him more and more unfavorable.  Then there is Jairus, the man whose daughter is dying, who is thinking and begging can we just hurry.  

The question that nobody wanted asked.  Nobody!  The woman just wanted physical healing, Jairus just wanted his daughter to live, the disciples just wanted Jesus not to upset anymore people.  But Jesus asked the question that nobody wanted asked.  I don't believe this is too far removed for us.  I think Jesus is constantly asking us questions that we don't want asked.  I believe they are questions of unmaking, questions that tear down false believes that we've built about us, about God, and about the world we live in.  I believe they are questions of convictions and redirections and challenging insights to where our hearts really are at times.  Again questions none of us are comfortable with.

So what is restoration?  In order to find restoration does there first need to be an unmaking; an unmaking of belief's, an unmaking of selfishness, an unmaking of the things that draw us away from the things of God.  You see the diseased woman just wanted to find physical healing, but through the questions Jesus wanted to bring emotional and social healing to someone who was a societal outcast. Jairus just wanted his daughter to find physical healing, but Jesus wanted to help Jairus find healing at a deeper level of trusting God with that which is most cherished, family.  Then the disciples are learning Jesus is about more than they originally thought.

What is the deeper healing or restoration God is wanting to do in our own lives?  We must often times lose ourselves to really be found.  Here lies the unmaking.

(below is the song we challenged our people with this past Sunday)

(here is the entire message from this past Sunday about the restoration process God is up to)