Then [Jesus] said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:48)

REACH OUT TO JESUS

I RECENTLY READ AN ARTICLE about people who fail to seek medical treatment due to embarrassment over their ailment. Presumably they fear judgment from the caregivers—some to the point where they won’t visit a doctor even when their symptoms include severe pain or bleeding.

The woman in Luke 8 had good reason to fear going to Jesus for healing. In her culture the bleeding she experienced made her unclean; and if she touched Jesus, He would become unclean too (Lev. 15:25–30). But Jesus was her last hope, and she had just enough faith to believe if she merely touched His garment she would be healed. Then she could slip away unnoticed. She didn’t know that His purity wasn’t compromised by her disease. Jesus didn’t ask who touched Him as though He didn’t know. He asked so that the woman would come forward and profess that He had healed her. He called her “daughter,” a term of affection, to show that He loved her. And He accepted her faith, as weak as it was.

Embarrassment over sin can keep us from reaching out to Jesus for forgiveness. We may fear that our sin is so grave that He could never forgive us. But that is Satan’s lie. We must believe by faith that Jesus forgives us when we confess our sins to Him (1 John 1:9).

Show judgmental Christians Jesus’ love today.

Nancy Reinke lives in the Colorado Rockies with her artist husband. She enjoys writing, photography, hiking, gardening, grandmothering, and encouraging others.