Women’s Midweek Reflection: Beginning Anew After Illness

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I want to be like Apostle Peter’s mother-in-law. What we know about her is found in three of the four Gospels—just two verses each, telling the same story. Jesus had recently gone through the wilderness temptations. Afterward, He taught in some synagogues, including one in Capernaum, a small town in Galilee. There, Jesus encountered a man who had a demonic spirit. Jesus commanded that spirit to leave the man, and it obeyed. Then He went to Peter’s house and another crisis.

Peter’s mother-in-law had a high fever, the physician Luke recorded. That tells us the woman was very sick. I wonder if she were near death. Those in the home asked Jesus about her. Luke wrote, “So he [Jesus] stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and began to serve them” (Luke 4:39).

This woman received Jesus’ healing; she didn’t question it. She got up immediately and served. Her service wasn’t limited to Jesus. She served all in the house. Served in this verse is the same word used to describe the way the angels ministered to Jesus after the wilderness temptations.

Challenge: Minister to others like Peter’s mother-in-law served.

Claudean Boatman enjoys January, not because of a new start but because January is one month closer to flower season! She earned a Master of Theological Studies from Gateway Seminary, Rocky Mountain Campus (Denver area), in 2023.