talitha: when He tells us to get up

Text: Mark 5:22-24, 5:35-43

Talitha: When He Tells Us To Get Up

We don’t know a lot about Jairus’ daughter. Her dad was a ruler in the synagogue. She was little, about twelve years old. We learn a little from her dad – his initial faith to seek Jesus for healing, his grief when it seemed that he’d lost her. But other than that, we don’t know much about her. Was she obedient? Was she lovely and graceful? Was she his only beloved child or the last of many? Had they already known a life of sorrow or did everything they touch do well? Had they prayed long enough, hard enough for her healing only to see her condition worsen or had she fallen ill quickly, without any warning?

Here’s what I do know. It doesn’t matter how dead you are or who you were before He told you to get up. In fact, I love how little we know about this story because it speaks volumes about who our Savior is. He didn’t need a backstory or a rap sheet or testimony. He didn’t need obedience or any effort on this little lady’s part. There was faith, by grace, and everything else was Him bringing death to life. Moreover, we know nothing about what happened next. Did their whole family place their trust in Him and follow along as His disciples? Did she go on to become an incredibly passionate woman because she was saved in such an extravagant way?

The truth is, none of that really matters. The basis of her identity – from our point of view, is that she was a girl who was dead and Jesus brought her back to life.

And you, if you believe in Him, that’s your story too.

Last year, last week, even what you did last night does not define you. Your sin, your shame, your accolades, your community, and your family name – none of them matter. The fruit God produces after He raises you from the dead can be beautiful and God glorifying, but you are everything you are because of the moment where He said, “Little girl – I say to you, arise”.

You are everything you are because He brought you back.
You are everything you are because you are loved.
You are everything you are because you’ve been made alive.
Nothing in your life is beyond resurrection and nothing in your life is too dead for His healing touch to fix it.

Arise.

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