Christ Jesus once talked about the need to go into “the next towns.” He had entered the home of Simon and Andrew, two of his disciples, and been told that Simon’s mother-in-law had a serious fever. Jesus went to her side, took her hand, helped her up, and she was healed (see Mark 1:29–31). And his demonstration of the power and love of Spirit, God, to meet every need didn’t stop there. Jesus’ compassion was unbounded and unselfish. He was not only able to help Simon’s mother-in-law, but eager to help those even far beyond his circles. He later said to his disciples, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth” (Mark 1:38).
Jesus’ examples of healing both before and after this statement were also teaching moments. They implied the broader message that Christianity is not static or localized. Neither is the practice of Christian healing and reform, as Jesus taught it and as Christian Science further explains.
Putting ourselves in the shoes of the early Christians, it’s worth asking this question: When we see remarkable evidences of God’s power, do we willingly go in a similar direction, ministering to the needs of a larger world? Or do we succumb to the temptation to stay put, to remain within familiar surroundings, and not venture into new communities, new circumstances, new experiences?
