Look Up. Breathe. Be Opened.

Jesus does everything well (Mark 7:37). He pulls a deaf man aside, in private, and uses signs to demonstrate His understanding of the problem (Mark 7:33). Then He gives the deaf man the Gospel.

Jesus looks up to heaven. The deaf man would have naturally looked up with Him. Jesus indicates that something divine is going on. Something outside the man is needed to give help. Something outside the man (God) is aware of his situation and is doing something about it.

Jesus sighs deeply. A deaf man would have taken the sigh to mean something was finished. Completed. Fulfilled. Jesus is the end of the line. The deaf man has to look no further than Jesus for life. The deaf man has to look no further than Jesus for help, empathy, love, healing, wholeness. Jesus came to finish redemption and restoration. Looking up to heaven and sighing was Jesus’ way of saying God had sent Jesus and nothing else would be needed. Period.

Jesus commands the man to be opened. Not just his ears and mouth. His whole being. His whole self. When Jesus tells something to open up, everything opens up. If this man wanted to be whole, everything needed to be fixed. Not just his ears and his mouth. But also his soul and spirit and heart and mind. Everything.

He looked up. He sighed. He commanded openness.

Think about this for a moment.

If God really did send Jesus to make us whole.

And if Jesus is the end of the line, the One who came to fulfill for us what God requires.

And if there is really no need at all to look beyond Jesus.

Then why not open up our whole selves to Him?

If Jesus isn’t out to get us, but is genuinely for us (Mark 7:33); and if He is God’s means of “whole person” salvation; then why would I keep anything from Him?

Why not have everything opened?

What is keeping you from getting off by yourself with Jesus for a few minutes?

What is keeping you from looking up to heaven with Jesus, acknowledging that God knows your situation and sent Jesus to do something about it?

What is keeping you from looking Jesus in the eye and acknowledging that He is the end of all your search for restoration and wholeness?

What is keeping you from opening up the closed off parts of your soul?

Why would you NOT want Jesus to restore what is broken?

Why would you look for something or someone else to fix it?

You know what happened to the deaf man, right? Yeah. He was opened. Jesus restored him.

Go ahead.

Look up. Take a deep breath. Jesus is is it. Open up. Let Him make you whole.