Mark 5:30—”And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?”
When a moving toy car slows down and then refuses to move, we say ‘must be the battery’ and recharge the battery. Once it regains lost charge, the car moves at full speed vrrroooom across the room again. Isn’t it the same with us? Our daily routine depletes us of our energy. Picture this: we interact with annoying people or have a discussion with an unbeliever, our Christlike virtue charge gets used little-at-a-time till we run out of charge. This is because we are still dealing with self-control during these times. We need to go back and fill ourselves with God’s Word to recharge ourselves and practise the behavior of restraint until we overcome it completely. The life-giving, self-changing Word helps us stay calm and deal with others in God’s love, whether it is our children’s quarrel, neighbour’s complaint, boss’ negativeness or spouse’s angry face. Our talk with God keeps us at peace during this time.
Jesus was the Living Word, the living example of virtue. He spent hours in prayer and taught us how to pray. He was calm through it all – teaching, healing, crowds, betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection to Heaven.
Why did He do this?
“And the whole multitude sought to touch him:for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all”(Luke 6:19). On earth, Jesus’ virtue healed people of their infirmities, sins and even death. There was the ill woman who went to Jesus in her faith (that even touching Jesus’ garment would heal her). The Bible says in Luke 8:46, “And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me:for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.” It reveals how she was healed – immediately!
We continue to make mistakes but are free when we repent and by the spilled blood of Jesus. We have virtue only through Christ and our faith in the gospel. By reading the Word, we change our life, renew our minds, and are made repentant from our hearts. Are we using God’s provision of the living Word to recharge our life?
