May 23: The Whole Truth
There’s a difference between telling part of the truth and telling all of it.
“But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”
The woman in this story had been bleeding for twelve years. She’d spent everything she had on doctors and gotten worse. Under the law, her condition made her unclean, so she was cut off from worship and from most people. She was used to hiding.
She pushed through the crowd, reached out, and touched the edge of Jesus’ clothes. She was healed immediately. And she probably hoped to slip away without anyone knowing.
But Jesus stopped and asked: who touched Me? She could have stayed hidden in the crowd. Instead, Mark says, she came fearing and trembling, fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth.
The whole truth. All twelve years of it, probably. The shame. The doctors. The desperation. What she’d just done.
And Jesus didn’t scold her. He called her daughter. He told her that her faith had made her well. Go in peace.
She’d already received healing in her body. But by telling the whole truth, she received something more: a name, a blessing, and peace. She walked away no longer hiding.
That’s what Step Five asks: the whole truth, not a careful selection. It’s scary. You might come trembling, like she did. That’s all right. She trembled too, and Jesus received her with tenderness.
Notice that she didn’t need perfect words. She just told it. Fear and all. Your Fifth Step can be like that. It doesn’t need to be polished. It needs to be complete.
And on the other side of the whole truth, there is peace. Not the uneasy peace of a secret still kept, but the real kind. The kind that comes from having nothing left to hide.
One thing today
Look over your inventory and ask: is this the whole truth, or a careful selection? If anything is missing, add it today.
A prayer
Jesus, I’m trembling at the thought of telling the whole truth. Thank You for receiving that woman with tenderness. Receive me too. Let me hear You call me Your child and send me out in peace. Amen.
This month’s step: Step Five.
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