Take it by Force
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. — Matthew 11:12 (NKJV) I often wondered about these violent people who take the kingdom by force. I’m sure one of them was the woman in Mark 5:25-30, who suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. This woman has always intrigued me, more than the other people Jesus healed. She didn’t wait for her friends to carry her to Jesus on a cot. She didn’t lay by the pool waiting for an angel to stir up the water. Jesus didn’t find her laying in bed or hiding in a barn. No. She actively pursued her Healer, the great Physician. She believed the word she had heard about Jesus, and her belief compelled her to take action. She said to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” This woman had spent everything she had on doctors and her condition only grew worse. The people who take the kingdom by force, probably gave everything to the world, at one ti...
