Often in life we find out that we are limited (withered) in one area or the other. That is why a lot of us arrive the new year with resolutions and goals, because there is an area of life where we want to improve or grow. And more often that not, we have already been equipped to grow in that area and we also see those potentials hence we would not aspire to change the situation. In the passage above, Jesus did not help the man stretch out his hand - instead, Jesus saw a dormant potential and commanded it to be stretched. What does it mean to stretch? - be made or be capable of being made longer or wider without tearing or breaking (Thesaurus Dictionary)
Other definitions (in italics);
- cause to do this
- at times we have to be commanded or command ourselves and command the elements around us through determination and full resolve to see a difference in our lives. Jesus told the man what to do with his hand. A lot of times we (either directly or indirectly) tell people and elements around us what we want from them. If you work your muscles, you get a toned body
- pull something tightly from one point to another or across a space
- we have to act in order to see things change around us
- last or cause to last longer than expected
- there is more to us than we think, we never really know what we can achieve until we try
- make great demands on the capacity or resources of
- I see this as asking more of ourselves, background, experiences, gender, race, society, resources, and opportunities around us. The man of Matt 12:13 has been with a withered hand all his life (that is his history and identity) but Jesus told him - S-T-R-E-T-C-H pal! Life deals us hard at times but we can make great demands of it and expect positive results. Numbers 27
- cause someone to make maximum use of their talents or abilities
- I heard from my Pastor that research has shown that only 5% of us think! Meaning, even though we have the capability to think, we don't engage that function. Its one thing to be a good writer, but its something else to be a better writer by fully engaging and developing one's abilities.
- adapt or extend the scope of something in a way that exceeds reasonable or acceptable limit
- The word "Acceptable & Reasonable" jumps out at me here. I can not even begin to think about the number of people that those words has set back again and again. We hear from parents, teachers, mentors, pastors, friends, families, you name it about what others can do or cannot do. So this means at times you have to be a trendsetter and be willing to be an outcast to do what God has for you. If God is telling you to leave your country and people like Abraham, you have to do it. If He's telling you to build an ark for a flood when there has never been a rain, you have to do it. God once told me to take a lesser paying job (no it wasn't reasonable!) but I stretched my faith and obeyed God. In return, I got promoted twice within a year and half!
- straighten or extend one's body or a part of one's body to its full length, typically so as to tighten one's muscles in other to reach something
- God is interested in His children's growth - spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, financially, academically and so on. When God created you and I, He blessed us and commanded us to increase and multiply hence we must increase and multiply.
- extend or spread over an area or period of time
- We are created to have influence, and people who influence are often people who go beyond the ordinary mark. If we study the Faith hall of fame of Hebrews 11, we read about women and men whose influence is still alive to this day even though their conquests are thousands of years old. When we stretch ourselves we become more useful to God and others.
©SongReach - A voice to the GeneraNATIONS.
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