On Being a Follower of Jesus

Faith That Moves Mountains.4

"These signs will follow those who believe: In my name they will cast out devils. They will speak with new tongues. Serpents, or deadly things, will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick and the sick will be made whole. Possessing faith the size of a mustard seed, they shall say to the mountains: 'Be removed and cast into the sea.'"

--Jesus

Walking through a Walmart one day I saw a man with a "withered hand" (actually it was his whole arm, but I digress). I went through this thought process:

"What if I had the courage, like Jesus, to boldly approach this guy and ask if he wants his arm made well. What if after conquering my own fear and unbelief and getting excited about the possibility of a real miracle occurring right in the middle of Walmart, just like a modern day Jesus, what if he responded: 'Actually I was just looking for the butter.' Not sure what I would have said after that...probably best just to not trouble the man. Yeah, best not to trouble him..."
The point of that little scenario is that I am confessing that I've struggled with the whole 'laying hands on the sick and the sick will be made well' thing. If I believed I could do that, does that mean that the person needing wellness would recieve it? Whose faith is being tested? The one who believes God can use them to bless others in wonder-filled ways or the one who has lost hope in ever changing their miserable circumstances?

Just watched the movie "John Q" again, depicting a desperate father, trying to get a new heart transplant for his dying son, taking on the evil medical/insurance complex and emerging the hero for both his wife & son as well as the financially disadvantaged. 
 Heroes come in a variety of shapes and sizes and the One who spoke from "Himalayas that we can only view from our sand heaps" sought to inspire in those who "will follow" the possibility of being like Him and His Father. Like God, we love and help and save. And with the powers of the Godhead at our disposal the possibilities of loving, helping and saving are infinite!

Dressing up in a superhero costume doesn't make one a superhero; but it does remind us that reality often intrudes on fantasy! For the follower of Jesus, however, we live daily with the possibility of the supernatural intruding on the strife-filled, weary natural leaving a life, a family, a community, a nation, a world a better place to live!