lectio divina:: mark 5

I was reading Mark 5 this morning and I discovered something new.
jesus goes into jairus’ house to heal his daughter.
when jesus finds the girl, she is already dead.
verse 41 says, “He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.”
for some reason, Mark throws her age in there, which I find fascinating.
the girl is 12. she is a middle schooler.
when jesus speaker to her, He calls her, “little girl.”
even jairus, her father, refers to her as “my little daughter.”
at 12 years old, she’s not that little! she’s probably kind of tall.
but jesus calls her little girl. when He looks at her, she is innocent and precious.


we don’t refer to 12 year olds as little girl anymore.
now they’re in make-up, and dyed hair and tight clothes-
they’re more like young ladies than little girls.
but what if the world saw 12 year olds as little girls?
they might be spared some of the mess that they have to deal with.
what if middle school ladies saw themselves as little girls?
they might avoid the drama and pain of the middle school years.
and they might slow down their mad rush into adulthood.


when jesus looks at a junior high girl, she isn’t a small woman;
she is a little girl.
she is innocent, pure, precious- and she should be looked after and protected!
she ought to be treated gently and with care.
and the rest of the world should follow His example.


God is love.
-rev-rob