“And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing”
The verses preceding Luke 9:11 tell of how the disciples returned to Jesus after witnessing miracles, healings, and the casting out of demons. Jesus had taken them to an island belonging to Bethsaida. The people of Bethsaida knew of Jesus and the miracles that had happened in their city, and began to follow after Jesus. And Jesus, who loved them, received them.
We too need to strive to follow Christ, because the world will try to deceive us. Christ will receive us no matter what state we are in, or what sins we have committed. We can bring our burdens to Jesus, our pain and our hurt. If we seek after Jesus, He will receive us. Christ does not want to reject us. He loves us, and gave His life for us.
We tend to want to follow Christ right where we are, because we are comfortable. If we seek more, we are afraid more will be required of us. We stay in our comfort zone because we are afraid. We know exactly what our relationship is with Christ. We don’t want to move, because we are content with what we are doing. But we need to let God take us to new places, to new experiences. We have to learn to trust God.
We have all seen God do big things in our lives. God has healed us from terrible situations. On those occasions, when we venture out of our comfort zones and trust God, he has already prepared the way. We can affect people if we are willing to trust God, and step out of our comfort zones.
The Kingdom of God is here and now. We must let go of the world if we want to walk in His Kingdom. We can experience the things of God every day. And God wants us to experience things that pertain to life and godliness.
We shouldn’t judge one another, bringing condemnation, but rather encourage one another to walk in the Kingdom of God. We need to examine ourselves first, in order to ensure that we are bearing good fruit--we can judge each other’s fruit, but we should not judge the tree. We need to be merciful, but that does not mean engaging in blind tolerance. Mercy is love, and a willingness to look past faults in order to accept others.
Jesus healed all that had a need. He healed them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. God is doing great things. Bring your needs to Him.