I am willing

One pillar of my personal ethos is that people don’t do things for two reasons: 1) they don’t know how, 2) they don’t care – or at least enough to expend the energy or minimally, they have struggled in figuring out how, so they have given up. According to dictionary.com, the will can be defined as the power of choosing one’s own actions or to decide, bring about, or attempt to effect or bring about by an act of the will.  In our text today, Mark 1:40-42, the word for will in the Greek is thelō.   It means to will, have in mind, intend a) to be resolved or determined, to purpose b) to desire, to wishc) to love 1) to like to do a thing, be fond of doing d) to take delight in, have pleasure.

Several posts ago, I asked you to search biblegateway.com for passages that have the words cried out or cry out to determine how God responds to us when we, in utter dependence, call on His name for help.  Remember also the post I am compassionate. Today, we see an example in the Word. In Mark 1:40-42, this man who has an illness or disease, leprosy, came.  No let me just insert the verses.

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy^[a] came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

 ⁴¹ Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
a Mark 1:40 The Greek word was used for various diseases affecting the skin—not necessarily leprosy.

If you notice, first, the man realized that he had an illness or a problem.   Second, the man came to Jesus recognizing that Jesus was the only one who could help him. I am sure that he had sought help many times before but to no avail. Next, the man demonstrated how humble and desperate he was by begging. Lastly, he realized that Jesus/God did not owe him anything.  God can choose to respond to us or not.  The man said if you are willing.  LOOK at Jesus’ response. He was filled with compassion which means to have your love and pity stirred up to the point of action.  Then Jesus stated that He was willing which led to him to command the illness, sickness, problem “Be clean!”  The man was instantly healed.

This does not mean that God will heal or instantly heal us when we entreat Him to heal, but it does mean that God hears us when we humble ourselves and seek God, He hears.  Of course, this is nothing new.  God proclaimed this in 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, “¹⁴ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” God is willing to respond to us in compassion.  He has great love and pity for us in our helpless state which is why He sent Christ to die for our sins.  Unless Jesus bled, died and rose, our sins could not be atoned rendering unity and peace with God unattainable.

God is willing.  Are you?