All Things Well: Mark 7:37

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There's a bookstore in the college town where my daughter lives that sells the best puzzles. I buy one for my wife from time to time. They hold together even when you pick them up vertically. They are well-made puzzles.

Sometimes I feel like a poorly made human being, or perhaps another way to put it is that sometimes I feel like a well-made puzzle. Sometimes I just cannot figure myself out. What's wrong? Why do I feel like this? I don't know. It's a puzzle.

One time, they brought a man to Jesus who was quite a puzzle: unable to speak or hear. Jesus didn't hesitate for a moment. He took the man aside and put his finger in the man's ear. He spit on the ground. He looked up to the sky and groaned. Then he said, "Be opened!"

Imagine that man's point of view. He could not communicate well. He could not hear, but he could feel Jesus' touch on his hindered ear. He could see Jesus spit on the ground, which he could guess referenced his hindered tongue. He could see Jesus groan toward the sky, which he could sense referenced the Almighty, the source of Jesus' power. Then he saw Jesus speak, and suddenly, he could hear everything Jesus was saying, and he could respond! He rejoined his community with all-new abilities!

Now for the community's point of view: They had heard that Jesus was in town. They had a neighbor who had a puzzling uniqueness, someone they signed to. Maybe Jesus could cause that man to hear? After his consultation with Jesus, their neighbor came back over to them, hearing them, speaking to them, and they were "astonished beyond measure," as they said to each other about Jesus, "He has done all things well" (Mark 7:37).

Now for our point of view: Whenever we feel like we are a puzzle, we can turn to Jesus. If we could fix it, we would. We’ve tried solutions, but reading books and setting boundaries aren’t working. This new activity and that new relationship haven't solved it. This new resolve and that familiar escape habit don't provide the answers. But we can go to Jesus. We can go to Jesus with zero answers. We can go to him and just be a puzzle. He can touch the hindered part. He knows the part that is hindered even if we don't, wherever it lies in our hearts, lives, ailment, relationships, confusion, or weariness. Jesus can put his finger on it with almighty power.

Jesus forgives when we confess our sin to him and saves our souls when we put all our hope in him. And he can look into every part of us and do what is needed. He can counsel. He can strengthen us for the challenge that is teaching us something valuable. He can comfort. He can give endurance. He can put the right people into our lives, or make us the right people for someone else's life. He can straighten things out. He can put his finger on it, even if we can't. He does all things well.