"Only Believe"

"While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”  But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” Mark 5: 36-37

"And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” Mark 5:39

~

In the tender stillness of this image, we witness a moment that transcends time—where hope confronts the finality of death. Jesus, with a gentle yet assured presence, stands by the side of Jairus' daughter, embodying the intersection of human frailty and divine power. The air is suspended in a divine pause, the very breath before life is summoned back into the young girl's body.  His hand, outstretched with divine purpose, is not just a gesture but a conduit of life's return. There, in that quiet room, He utters a phrase that is both a command and an assurance: “Talitha koum!” (Mark 5:41, NIV), “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” In the scripture, just before this powerful moment, He speaks to the trembling heart of Jairus, cutting through the noise of grief and disbelief with a command that is both gentle and firm: “Don’t be afraid; only believe” (Mark 5:36).

These words, "only believe," are a poignant echo in the stillness, an instruction that carries weight beyond the confines of the scene. The very essence of faith is encapsulated in this whisper of Christ, a reminder that in the realm where He presides, nothing is beyond restoration. The butterfly, a symbol of transformation, poised above her, mirrors the potential for new life that belief holds.

This is a scene of divine reassurance that belief is the key to witnessing the impossible. For in the economy of faith, belief is the currency that animates hope, that turns the key in the lock of what seems unchangeable. It is a testament that in our lives, even when situations seem beyond revival, there is an invitation to believe—and in believing, to see the slumbering awaken, the 'dead' rise, the lost found, and the old made new. It is a call to each of us to hold fast to faith, to believe, and to witness the power of resurrection that can unfold in the narrative of our own lives.