Greater works

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it…” John 14:12-13

For most of my life I ignored this verse because I didn’t quite understand it. But when I finally took some time, I got excited. Because if this verse was true, then all that Jesus did I could do also. Heal people, cast out demons, raise people from the dead. So I began to pray for people and their healing and I saw it happen, which was breath-takingly wonderful. But along the way disappointment and frustration set in because it wasn't happening all that often - not like it did with Jesus. And I complained to Him about this so much so that when I look back now, I realize that I had become a Pharisee, demanding signs and wonders in order to believe what Jesus said.

This week I hurt someone with my words and my reaction. It was a heaviness and guilt that was laid so great on me that it kept me awake overnight and consumed my thoughts during the day. I knew what I needed to do. So, I did just that. I acknowledged my sin and asked for forgiveness. Which was immediately given. And in that exact moment, the weight that was lifted off of me was so immense that I ran to a mirror to see if I had lost weight. That’s how light I suddenly felt.

Which led me to think of the story of Jesus’ healing of a paralyzed man. When the man was brought to Jesus, Jesus immediately told him that his sins were forgiven which caused an uproar amongst the religious leaders. Jesus asked this question, a question in which I have spent lots of time thinking about this week: “Which is easier to say, your sins are forgiven or stand up and walk?”

For the longest time, I thought the doing “greater works” was all about the miraculous - the healings, the extractions, the resurrections. But, it’s occurred to me that Jesus displayed and did greater works just about every day. When he forgave sins. When he called the Rabbis' rejects to be his followers. When he hugged the lepers, welcomed a prostitute, shared dinner with a tax collector. Those were miracles, but it was even more than that. It was a miraculous way of living.

It requires a miracle of great courage to leave the safety and the shared beliefs of your group to go and hang out with someone labeled different. It takes miraculous humility to spend time with sinners. And it takes a miracle to let go of your hurt in order to forgive. But in living this way, this miraculous way of living, the results are incomparable. Because when we choose to live like this, we get the incredible privilege of watching someone rise up off their mat and walk. Or sometimes run to the mirror to see if they had lost weight.

It's not an easy way to live at all, doing greater works. But Jesus said, "Ask for anything in my name, and I will do it." So, I think I'm ready, ready to ask to live this newly defined miraculous life. To do the greater works of healing, loving, accepting, forgiving.