This past week in class we began learning a bit more
about the Four Gospels in “The New Testament”- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-
in regards to their writing styles, the audiences to whom they were writing and
teaching at the time, their varying relationships with the Savior Jesus Christ
during His earthly ministry, and other such factors that influenced the records
they left behind which we read today in the Bible. While learning about these
four different men, Mark especially captured my attention. He begins writing a
little later (twenty years after the departure of Christ) and starts his
account of the Lord’s ministry with His baptism, continuing from there. He
serves to give a quickly-paced overview of the life of Jesus, hardly stopping
to take pauses and give more explanation. His records were originally meant to
be delivered orally, giving further reason to the running, fluid cadence of his
speech. Brother Griffin, my religion professor, invited the class to experiment
a little by first reading Mark’s account and then speaking it aloud in order to
more fully appreciate this unique style of writing. This invitation, coupled
with a recent invitation and promise given by President Russell M. Nelson in a
Worldwide Young Single Adult Devotional in January that if we were to study the
life and words and character of the Savior that we would have a decreased
desire to disobey and an increased desire to keep the commandments, motivated
me to learn more about Christ by reading the book of Mark. I have thoroughly enjoyed
what I have learned so far and wish to share a small insight with you that had
a great impact on me this week.
In Mark 1, we read about one particular experience in
which the Lord visits the mother-in-law of Simon (Peter- one of the newly
called Twelve Apostles) who lays in sick in bed. Verses 30 through 31 read, “But
Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon [immediately] they tell him
of her. And he [Jesus] came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and
immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.” I absolutely
loved these two verses for the powerful, symbolic lesson taught in so few
words. First, the Savior took no hesitation in going to rescue some struggling
soul. This has always been and will always be the case. The Savior comes
running to us when we are in trouble and extends His saving hand to all. In
verse 31, it says that He “took her by the hand, and lifted her up”. This is
very symbolic of the Atonement- the act of love that Christ performed for us by
suffering for our sins and heartaches in Gethsemane, suffering death on the
cross at Calvary, and resurrecting from the tomb on the third day. The
Atonement has the power to lift us in many different ways- physically,
emotionally, mentally, spiritually. The Atonement has given mankind the gift of
resurrection, meaning that every single person in the history of the whole
world will be lifted physically from death and the grave and be lifted to God’s
presence to be judged. The Atonement also lifts us from the dark places of our
lives, whether that be a trial we are passing through or a mistake that ways us
down. When we accept the outstretched hand He extends to us by deciding to
repent, pray, fast, change, and start over, we are lifted.
What follows in this verse is absolutely miraculous;
it reads that “immediately the fever left her”, meaning that she experienced
immediate and complete relief of what she had been going through. Then “she
ministered unto them”, meaning that she was able to impart of the change that
had occurred within her to others around her. The Atonement of Jesus Christ brings
immediate relief. I do not mean to say that all will be resolved the first time
we ask for forgiveness or that a magical wand will suddenly make all our life’s
problems disappear, but every time we choose to follow the Savior and draw
closer to Him, an immediate relief will flow into our lives and there will be a
peace that was not there before. We will feel a difference and be able to minister
unto others, just as the woman in this account did. When we allow the Atonement
to heal us, we are more able to serve those around us and help them to find the
same comfort and saving grace in their lives. We can symbolically become the
hands of the Lord by serving those around us and helping them to apply the
healing power of the Atonement personally. I know that as we strive to come
closer to Him, He will always draw near unto us, heal us, and enable us to
rescue others in need.
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