I have this favorite scene in the scriptures:

Jesus enters the house of the synagogue ruler, Jairus. He sends away the professional mourners, takes the parents along with Peter, James and John into the room of the girl, and then we read:

“He took (the girl) by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha Kum!’ (which means ‘Sweetheart, I say to you, get up’)” (Mark 5:41).

I love this picture of the intimacy, immediacy, and tenderness of Jesus. 

Jesus beckons her back to life, invites her to return. It is not a loud command but the beckoning love of God is almost a gentle whisper.

And what a picture it is — she who is helpless, dead, gone, arises at his invitation. Hasn’t Jesus done this with you?

Similarly, but with a bolder, shouted flavor, are the words of Jesus in Matthew to his disciples. They have been struggling against the waves in their boat and are someplace around the middle of the Sea of Galilee. And Jesus ambles up to them on the water! Seeing him, they cry out in fear, believing he is a ghost. That’s when we read;

“But Jesus immediately said to them, ‘Take Courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid’” (Matthew 14:27).

He doesn’t keep them in suspense! He issues a command to beckon them out of fear into faith. 

So, you and I are invited, wooed, encouraged, raised.

Part of the gift of the Christian Ashram has always been this whimsical, beckoning beauty.

I first attended the California Winter Ashram in 1981. Mary Webster (Tattersall) who had traveled with E. Stanley Jones in the 50’s and 60’s was the evangelist. As the rain came down in buckets that weekend, she beckoned us to a new fullness in the Lord. I remember singing while splashing through puddles, laughing with new friends, praying like I had not before, and being impacted by Jesus. “Son, follow me,” he seemed to say.

Be whimsical and joyful as you beckon others to come encounter Jesus the Lord at the Christian Ashram. And may those you invite hear him saying, “Arise! Get up!”