Nougat 16

My dear siblings in Christ

Blessings to you. I wonder if you have ever wanted to talk about some things and realized it fell under the category ‘TMI’ as in Too Much Information. I’ll confess, I have had a few. Ironically, while I am guilty of over-sharing, I have had the opposite issue with God. But today’s Holy Nougat invites us to think differently.

“And there before Him was a man swollen with fluid.” Luke‬ ‭14:2‬ ‭TLV‬‬

I don’t think I have ever thought about men problems being included in the Bible before. Seriously. Not that I didn’t think they existed; but I never thought about it per se (and yes, I was conscious of men being healed). For, in this Tree of Life version, the ‘dropsy’ I read of in the King James takes a slightly different meaning. As a child, dropsy somehow seemed to be connected with sleep, not water retention and I guess I never bothered to double check my theory.

So here’s a throw-in for others who might be like me; reserve the right to clarify that which we don’t know – just like the Ethiopian eunuch; it could be the key to life in/with Christ.

That said, I return to the nougat more fulsomely.

Although women may have water retention problems, one tends to think of men grappling with gout, having their ankles swollen; or of them attempting to overcome enlarged prostates. Whichever it was, the man was ill.

I raise the issue as men’s illnesses or men problems because it is sometimes challenging to think of men being insecure, ill or challenged because they are men. And more so, to find it in the Bible. But the Bible speaks to all sorts of issues; perhaps as a reminder that God is directly interested in every single aspect of our lives. Even our issues of blood inability to conceive or prostate enlargement.

God cares about what we are experiencing in the here and now, and not only about eternity. And while I have never understood why some are healed and others not; I am still convinced God is in the healing business. (If you have doubts, fact check the number of Covid-19 recoveries against the deaths). More critically; I’d like to suggest that the God Who interfaces with a man grappling with fluid retention CAN handle any issues we face in our lives.

We might need to reposition our pride to ensure that God has access to those delicate issues that no one wants to talk about.

Selah

In Christ’s love and grace . . .