Mark 1:30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.
The Health to Serve
I suspect that when we read the story in Mark 1, we are reading of the person who had the hardest job in the entire Bible! She didn’t command an army; she didn’t rule a country; she didn’t have some hazardous job like fishing on a tempestuous Sea of Galilee. No, she had a son-in-law who did, and he was just as tempestuous as the sea on which he fished. Of course, we’re talking of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. I don’t seriously believe she had the hardest job in the Bible, but can you imagine being an in-law to Simon Peter? It certainly wasn’t boring or dull.
In Mark 1 we read of Jesus healing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. Jesus came into the house of Simon Peter where Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever. Luke, a physician, tells us in his account that this was a “great fever” which indicated that this was a serious illness.
The Bible says that immediately after they told Jesus about her condition, He “came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.” It is interesting to note that Jesus healed her immediately.
It is also interesting that Jesus healed her completely. We know this because she served or ministered to them right away. Now what did she serve? I rather suspect that she was serving a meal. You wouldn’t want someone preparing your meal who not completely healed of some dread disease, would you? Well, no. So Jesus healed her completely.
Now we have to ask ourselves, why did Jesus heal this woman immediately and completely? I think there’s a reason found in the next phrase after her healing. The Bible says that “she ministered unto them.” Jesus healed her, and she served others.
Serving others is a sign of health. Serving self is a sign of lack of health. Notice what happened here. He healed: she served. The bottom line is that the moment Jesus healed this woman, she was serving others. Ask God to help you and to give you health to the point that you can serve others. The sign of a healthy heart, a healthy spirit, and a healthy life is serving others, and that’s one of the reasons that God gives you breath today.