Faith On The Fringes

When the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed.

The conversation was going places where I wasn’t invited. My friends started a discussion that didn’t include me, and all of a sudden I felt lonely even though I was surrounded by a crowd of women who knew me.

Have you ever felt the pangs of being left out—unseen by family, friends, or colleagues? In these moments, we have a choice: we can either retreat inward or reach outward for help, healing, and wholeness in Christ. In this fallen world, we frequently encounter situations that leave us feeling isolated and alone. It’s possible to be in a crowd and still feel unseen and overlooked.

As we see in the Gospels, Jesus didn’t ignore, leave out, or pass by those on the fringes; he paused, looked them in the eyes, and spoke to them. One particular encounter of Jesus’ compassion for the lonely and overlooked moves me every time I read it.

Luke 8 recounts a time when Jesus was surrounded by a large crowd of people who were waiting for him. Luke describes the rambunctious crowd as pressing all around Jesus. He was being touched and called out to from all sides.

In the midst of the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve straight years. Twelve years——that’s4,380 days (give or take). Not only was this woman a social outcast due to her infirmity, but she was also broke. She’d spent all her money searching for a cure, but no one could heal her.

She came behind Jesus, reached out, and touched the edge of his clothing. Immediately her bleeding ceased (see Luke 8:44).

Jesus stopped and asked, “Who was it that touched me?” (Luke 8:45).

Peter, one of the disciples, reminded Jesus that he was being touched by a whole multitude of people. Jesus clarified, “Someone has touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me” (Luke 8:46).

Can you imagine what the crowd was thinking? They must have thought Jesus was confused. And yet only one person had touched the fringes of his garment with faith in his salvation.

When Jesus called out to the crowd, asking who had touched him, this woman “saw she was not hidden” and came before him, trembling. Jesus looked at her—a woman who was left out, alone, impoverished, and untouchable—and said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace” (Luke 8:47-48).

Her recorded moment with Jesus ends here, and yet her faith in her Savior lives on.

We serve a Savior who sees those who are on the fringes—those who are left out, lonely, insecure, and alone (see Psalm 34:5). When he healed the bleeding woman, her ultimate salvation was not in the physical relief from her infirmity but in the healing of her sin-stained soul.

Because of Jesus’ great love and power, we go forward in peace, confident in our identity in him. Instead of turning inward in defeat, we can turn outward and look to him for hope, encouragement, and comfort—even when we feel unseen in a crowd.

Word before World In Christ, you are seen, known, and loved.

Grow in Grace When you feel left out, instead of retreating inward in defeat, insecurity, or discouragement, look upward to Christ.