If you are willing...

Jesus gives a great sermon on the mountain (the greatest sermon of all time?), and today's New Testament reading begins immediately after that:

When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.

Matthew 8.1-3

There really are only two questions when we're asking God for something:

1. Are you able to do this for me? and
2. Are you willing to do this for me?

This man with leprosy was clear on the first question but not really sure of the second.

This may not be considered politic, but I believe this man is a great model for us. Is God able to cure my loved one's health problems? You bet he is! He still does it today; I've seen it. Is God willing to work a miracle whenever we ask him? Not necessarily!

This brings up a lot of questions: why is it that some get healed and others don't? Why is it that some people seem to get more "yes" answers than others? And so on.

I've heard answers that make a lot of sense, but they're only partial answers; there's a lot that God hasn't yet revealed. In the meantime, I think it's very important for us to remember that God really is all-powerful. That doesn't mean he'll do what we want when we want the way we want it, but we need to remember that he can.