Able and Willing

And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

And he put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean.  And immediately the leprosy departed from him.    Luke 5:12, 13

There’s nothing like being in dire need or trouble and reaching out to someone who can help, but is not willing.  It’s almost equally frustrating to have someone who is willing but just not able to help.

Not only is Jesus able, having all power to do exceeding, abundantly above all we can ask or think, but he is also willing to do just that on our behalf.  In the Luke 5 story, and also in the previous chapter, Peter also finds out just how willing Jesus is to help him.  He already knew that Jesus was able to do amazing things, but when Jesus worked miracles for Peter and his family, he realized that he’s not only awesome and powerful, but he cares about regular everyday people.  He cares about me and you.

The miracles in this chapter demonstrate Jesus’ love, which makes his power so much more meaningful.  He has power to heal, and he also has power to forgive sins.  Unlike some humans, he’s not hoarding his power or using it to control people; Jesus freely forgives all who come to him.  His forgiveness is so supernatural, that it removes all guilt, so that in the eyes of God it’s like you have never sinned.  Not only that, it’s so in tune with us as people, that he physically went to the cross and paid the penalty for our sins, so that he could take the punishment off of our heads.

We don’t have to live expecting to be paid back for sins that Jesus has forgiven. True love, God’s love, doesn’t keep record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).  Once we have asked for God’s forgiveness and accepted Jesus’ payment of the penalty for our sins, we are free from the guilt, the shame, and the ominous looming payback that fear tells us God will swoop down and exact at any time.  If we have trouble, or even consequences for our actions, we must realize that we are still in the hands of a loving God, who desires the best for us, and is charting the course of our life to bring us to the future he has prepared for us before the foundation of the world.

We know he’s able, but remember he is also willing.

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