“One of my neighbors came over last night,” Stan began. “He has suffered from a hearing loss for quite some time. Yesterday he was fitted with some hearing aids.”
“Do they help him?” I asked.
“He said it’s a ‘miracle’,” Stan replied. “He can really hear.”
“That’s great,” I responded. “Good for him.”
“He also said,” Stan replied with a laugh, “his wife told him she wished for some sort of miracle device that would help his listening!”
“That would be great for all of us!” I said.
“This whole thing about a hearing miracle reminds me of something Jesus did,” Stan continued.
“When He healed the man who was deaf?” I asked.
“No,” Stan replied, “I was thinking about Malchus.”
“Malchus?” I said. “Who’s Malchus?”
“He’s a guy mentioned briefly in the Bible,” Stan replied. “Apparently he worked for the Jewish high priest and was present when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethesame before He went to the cross.”
Continuing, he said, “When Malchus and the others came to arrest Jesus, Peter pulled out his sword and cut off Malchus’ right ear.”
“Wow!” I responded. “That must have hurt.”
“I suppose,” Stan said, “but Jesus touched Malchus’ ear and he was healed.”
“End of story?” I asked.
“Well,” Stan replied, “it could be, but maybe it wasn’t. Can you imagine Malchus going home and his wife asks, ‘How was your day?’ and he proceeds to tell her what happened. Can you imagine further his encounter with Jesus and the miracle ear would not have changed his life and eternal destination?”
“You’re reading into the story,” I replied.
“I am,” Stan responded, “but I also know everything, including eternal destination and life on this side, can be changed in an instant when a person encounters Jesus.”
Continuing, he said, “I know what happened with me when I encountered Jesus. It wasn’t as dramatic as putting my ear back on, but, for me, it was no small miracle to have everything about my life and eternal destination changed in an instant.”
Concluding, he added, “If a person is open to seeing Jesus for who He is, there’s no way an encounter with Him isn’t going to change everything. When I get off the train, I’m going to look to see if Malchus is there!”
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And a certain one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him. Luke 22:50, 51.
Simon Peter therefore having a sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. John 18:10.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for sending your Son into the world so I could encounter Him and have everything changed. My eternal destination is to be with you forever when my time here is completed. And my life on this side of eternity has been changed for all of the time I have remaining here. All because you allowed me to encounter Jesus with a heart open to see Him and to accept all He did on my behalf. I pray for each person to encounter Jesus in the same way, to truly see, accept, and embrace Him for who He is, your only begotten Son, the Savior. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in His name. Amen.
Think on this: An encounter with Jesus can change everything, including eternal destination and life on this side of eternity. Have you had that sort of encounter? If so, what was it like? What happened because of that encounter? If you have not encountered Jesus, would you like to do so? Why or why not? If you want to encounter Jesus, do you know how to do that?
Waiting for the Train 