Mark 1:44,45 Say Nothing

This morning I had just arrived at work when I got a phone call from my wife. My 17yo son had lost control of the car in the wet and had an accident. My 21 yo daughter was a passenger. My wife asked me to come immediately.

The spot was only 5 minutes drive away and the police were there directing traffic to a detour around the accident, which we couldn't see. It had happened on a downhill right-hander with a cliff rising from the left side of the road.. I was worried.! But apart from being shaken, neither driver nor passenger were injured. The car is already fixed and ready to go again.

He was running late for college, driving within the speed limit but too fast for the heavy rain. He had lost control on the corner, spun to the wrong side of the road, and then back to the left where the car spun up the side of the cliff prescribing an arc 20 metres long on the sandstone, back down to the verge over some shrubby trees and came to rest, still on the left side of the road, about 100 meters from where the slide started. At that busy time of day, no other car was near! The damage: one flat tyre, a broken headlight and a bent and mud-filled exhaust system!

The policewoman gave him a stern lecture on driving in wet conditions, but didn't book him. The firemen turned off the LPG in case of leaks and the tow truck operator (from Sydney - up here to help clear the 5000 storm damaged cars from the roads) made an interesting comment that I would not have expected from such a man.

He said "God was a passenger in this car today, it should have rolled!"

Yes God was good to our family today, even miraculously good.

Shouldn't we witness to the miracles in our lives and tell others about what God has done for us? Yet Jesus tells the healed leper not to tell anyone about it!

There are a few reasons I can think of:

1. Healing was secondary to something else in Jesus ministry


2. Healing is only here and now. Christ is focused on eternity


3. Miracles would focus our attention on earthly power


4. Focus on the miraculous doesn't allow Christ to do His real work

The man proclaimed it freely, a very natural human response, one I just made!. And it looks like reason number four came true as Jesus could no longer "openly enter" Capernaum. He had to stay in the desert. But people still came from everywhere. He was still very attractive.

Do I concentrate just on the miraculous when He wants to do something more for me? Do I overlook the greatest things for just something good just now?

It seems Jesus never succumbed to the lure of fame. I would have become a showman, but Jesus retires. he would only meet people on His terms. Sure He would heal people, but only in the context of His preaching. It must have been around this time that He preached the sermon on the mount.

Reason 3 is all about fame and power in this world., But Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God, a very different kingdom to any in this world.

Reason 2 is all about this temporary old world. Jesus didn't want to change the world., He wanted a completely new one, with a whole different way of operation, which we will see more about in Chapter Two, where we find out what is more important to Christ than miracles.

What could be more important than my kids being safe and well?