A Transforming Gaze

She had run out of options. She had gone everywhere for help and found none. She had spent all her money and received nothing. No answers, no healing, no hope. Empty-handed, hurting, and desperate for help. That is how she came, the woman with a hemorrhage that would not stop (Mark 5:24-34).

In what may have been her last attempt for a cure, this nameless woman came to Jesus. And that’s exactly what she hoped to remain: nameless, unseen, in and out without hassle. As the crowd pressed in and Jesus passed by, she silently reached out. She hoped any contact with Him would bring healing. So with ferocity of faith she extended her hand.

And in an instant it happened. Years of misery ended. It seemed she had gotten what she came for and escaped unnoticed. Jesus, however, wanted to know who He had healed. He didn't want to provide an impersonal miracle. He wanted to see her face. Or maybe He wanted her to see His face looking at hers, His eyes penetrating into her broken heart, “You are loved. You are whole.”

I wonder if this is what He wants for you and me to experience as well. We too have a rupture, a spiritual tear. We bleed sin inside with nothing to stop its flow. This same sin has eroded our clotting devices. And often we spend our time, money, and energy looking to the physicians of comfort and security (money, relationships, sex, food, career, the "good life") and come away empty-handed and unchanged. We feel desperate for hope, for a cure for our empty and longing hearts, for a remedy for our self-centered and self-seeking ways. We have but one option left, Jesus.

Much like this woman reached out for His cloak, we only have to gaze upon Christ’s sacrifice in faith and be healed. In Him, God delivered us from our sin disease. Our penalty paid in full. The hemorrhage of sin ceased. But just like Jesus didn’t let this woman slip away unnoticed, He calls out to us. He beckons us to look up and see His merciful and compassionate eyes staring back, “You are clean. You are forgiven. You are loved.”

And it is this knowledge that sets free, that transforms. Paul writes, “But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (II Cor 3:18). By looking into the mirror-image of God in Christ, His love changes us. We know we are known and still desired.

If you, like me, find yourself yearning for heart change, perhaps we need to spend more time gazing into the eyes of Christ. Let us, like this woman, find the courage to come despite our shame, discomfort and fear. May we echo with the psalmist, “When you said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, O LORD, I shall seek’” (Ps 27:8).

Simple Joy :: YouPublish

Check out my article on the art of journaling on the online magazine for women, "Simple Joy".

Simple Joy :: YouPublish