A personal relationship to Jesus is crucial for living a full Christian life.  Though this may sound obvious I've discovered that many Christians are unaware of having such a relationship and relate consciously only to God the Father.  They seem unaware of the fact that God sent Jesus to us to be our way, our truth and our life, and that God chooses to work in this world through Jesus. 

Mark's Gospel clearly shows that God worked through Jesus healing those that came to him with afflictions.  The best Biblical scholarship today acknowledges that Jesus was a healer, and further that healing was a central activity of the historical Jesus. 

This truth has profound implications for our lives as Christians.  We are called to live in a continual personal relationship with Jesus, and this relationship includes bringing our own problems and afflictions to Christ.  The entire New Testament presents Jesus as saviour, redeemer, shepherd, helper, friend.  Only when we go to Jesus in trust for help in all our needs do we really grasp the significance of Jesus as savior. 

Salvation is not merely something that happened two thousand years ago; salvation happens daily.  Jesus saves us daily to the extent that we allow him to touch and transform our lives, and especially to touch and transform us where we need him most, in our suffering.  This is the Good News of the Gospel.  The prayer of the preacher catches this well, "Lord, I know that nothing will happen to me today that you and I together can't handle."