Luke 5 :: is Jesus all about me or all about himself?

Luke 5

In chapter 5 we see Jesus meeting the deepest needs of people he met. What's more important to a fisherman than to catch a boatload of fish? What could mean more to a leper than to be touched, to be healed? Jesus gave the paralyzed man new legs, and shared a table with social and religious outcasts.

But in every instance, Jesus has another purpose beyond meeting the need of the individual. The fishermen would be called away from fishing and become fishers of men. By touching the leper and eating with tax collectors, he makes bold social statements. He even uses the healing of the paralyzed man to make a point about his authority to forgive sins.

Here's the dilemma: I'd like to believe that Jesus wants to meet my needs, but are there always strings attached? And I already know that not everyone gets healed, not everyone gets the boatload of fish. Is Jesus all about me or all about himself?

I think the answer is actually "both," which is one of those paradoxes of faith. Undoubtedly Jesus cares deeply. Story after story in Luke will bear that out. But he also has an agenda that is greater than any individual or any group. His mission is to draw the world to himself. The goal is universal recognition that he is the Son of God; for every knee to bow and every tongue to confess that he is Lord.

I take great comfort in knowing that Jesus cares about me and my family and friends. But that is not to say that in the Kingdom, I am the center of his universe; he is supposed to be the center of mine. "To God be the glory" and "Your will be done" are often more difficult words than "God, I need you to deliver for me," but they are the words of the spiritually mature.