{"id":12475,"date":"2015-09-30T10:11:09","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T15:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/?p=12475"},"modified":"2023-03-16T15:42:23","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T20:42:23","slug":"word-on-wednesday-mark-217","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/2015\/09\/30\/word-on-wednesday-mark-217\/","title":{"rendered":"Word on Wednesday: Mark 2:17"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Free<\/p>\n

I had lunch with a friend last week whom I’d not seen for some time. I knew she was in the midst of some very significant trials,<\/strong> so as I hugged her neck in greeting, I told her our family has been been praying for her and asked how she was holding up.<\/p>\n

As she shared the details of what she has endured in the past few months — and what the Lord has been teaching her in the interim<\/strong> — she made a comment (and repeated it several times) that I’ve been thinking about ever since.<\/p>\n

“I’m broken,” she confided.<\/strong> “Our whole family is broken. Please keep praying for us, because we can use all the prayer we can get.”<\/p>\n

As I reflected on her words, I couldn’t help but recall what our Savior said in Mark 2:17<\/a>:<\/p>\n

“On hearing this, Jesus said to them, \u201cIt is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.\u201d (Mark 2:17)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you think about it, we all are broken — every last one of us<\/strong>. Some of our cracks are more obvious than others, but we all have them.<\/p>\n

The difference is that the present trials my friend is going through have made her more acutely aware of her brokenness<\/strong> than she was before. But that’s a good thing, because once our eyes are opened to what’s broken, we have a more urgent desire to cast ourselves upon the mercy of the only One who can repair it.<\/p>\n

Those Pharisees Jesus was talking to? Spiritually speaking, they were every bit as ill as the blind and lame and deaf and dying souls Christ healed at every turn — the Pharisees just didn’t recognize that fact. They were blind to their own brokenness, oblivious to the cancer that consumed them. Though their hearts were full of sin, they denied it, and in so doing, missed the opportunity to have their sin forgiven and their hearts and lives made whole.<\/p>\n

Be sure you don’t make that same mistake.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This week’s verse — Mark 2:17 — can be found in the fifth set<\/a> of our Scripture Memory Flashcards:<\/p>\n

\"Free
[click on image to print]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/p>\n

And for extra practice, I’ve made more handwriting printables<\/a>, as well:<\/p>\n

\"Like
[click on image to print]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/a><\/p>\n

Plus, in case you missed them, here are links to the first four sets of flashcards and practice sheets, too:<\/p>\n