A Perfect World
by Betty Ruth Fox
John 4: 46 – 50. 46 Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.47 When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. 48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” 49 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.
How many of us, like the royal official, have asked God to heal a loved one? We ask, why are some healed and others not? I have asked that question many times. If we knew on the front end that everything on this earth would be perfect for just the asking, life would not be worth living because if anything went wrong, we would simply ask God to make it “right” and it would be. We would all pray for everything to be perfect and our prayers would be answered. Obviously, that is not the case. And we wonder why not.
I think God performs millions of miracles every single day, from the birthing of babies to the blooming of flowers. I believe all is not perfect on Earth to cause us to need one another. After all, if all things were perfect, I would not need any one.
I think challenging times cause us to need one another, which is exactly what God wants– to share our gifts and talents and love with each other.
I thank God for the opportunities to help others and pray to God that I will accept the help of others when I am in need, which may be the most challenging lesson for me of all. Amen.
Additional scriptures: Isaiah 65: 17-25; Psalm 30: 6, 11-13